


Undertale: Prince Ralsei

by Bootleg_Bargain_Bin_Ralsei, DeterminationIsNotCrash



Series: Prince Ralsei [1]
Category: Deltarune (Video Game), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (Though the latter are in the background), Alternate Universe - Gaster Blaster (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Prince Ralsei, Gaster Blaster Papyrus (Undertale), Gaster Blaster Sans (Undertale), Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23568919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bootleg_Bargain_Bin_Ralsei/pseuds/Bootleg_Bargain_Bin_Ralsei, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeterminationIsNotCrash/pseuds/DeterminationIsNotCrash
Summary: An alternate universe retelling of Undertale, the video game by Toby Fox. Follow, Frisk, a human child who has unwittingly fallen into the underground, and now sets off on a journey to find the other children who fell before. Coming along for this trip is Frisk's new best friend Ralsei. Follow them as they set off on a dangerous journey to find the missing children.That's it, that's all I've got. I'm not very good at this. I hope I made it sound exciting enough for you.
Series: Prince Ralsei [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696402
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1: The Ruins

(Author's note: Obviously before you read this you should probably play Undertale to completion or atleast familiarize yourself with the plot. If you're worried about potential spoilers then you probably shouldn't read this as this will be written with the assumption you've played the game before or atleast know the storyline. And MAYBE Deltarune since this contains AU versions of characters from it.)

A small child in a purple striped shirt awakens on a bed of golden flowers. They're still a bit dazed as they sit up, hold their head and look around. They found themselves in a cave with a ray of sunlight shining down from the hole they had fallen into. There was no way to climb back up. The only way to go was the single passageway down the path to the left.

With no other choice, the child makes their way through. On the other side they encounter a curious sight. A golden flower with a face! And not just that, it even speaks! Upon sighting the child the flower introduces itself. "Howdy! I'm FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER!" the child is unsure of how to respond. They choose to simply stay silent. Flowey, continues "Say, you're new to the Underground ain'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused! Someone will have to teach you how things work down here! I guess lil' ol' me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!"

As Flowey, says this, suddenly a glowing red heart appears hovering just a small distance from their chest where their heart actually is. "See that heart?" Flowey, asks, Flowey, continues as if they knew the human wouldn't know the answer anyway. "That's your SOUL! The very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but it can grow stronger if you gain alot of LV." Flowey says.

The human simply stares in awe at this revelation. Flowey, however wasn't done yet "Now what is LV you ask?" Even though the human did not ask, Flowey would continue all the same "LOVE of course! You want some love dont'cha?" Flowey, asks. The child nods hesitantly... "Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Flowey assures with a wink. The longer this conversation continues the child just feels more and more anxious. Something was not right here.

"Down here, love is spread through little white friendliness pellets!" as Flowey, says this several floating white pellets appear around him. "Are you ready?" He asks. The child nods hesitantly once again. "Go ahead! Move around, catch them!" Flowey says as the pellets then begin to levitate in the child's direction. The child considers it, if only for a moment before deciding to simply step aside, causing them to miss.

Flowey, then almost immediately bears an expression of sarcasm and says "Hey buddy. You missed them. Let's try again, okay?" Once again, Flowey creates more white pellets and propels them at the child's SOUL. Once again, they step out of the way, avoiding them completely.

Flowey, now bears an expression of annoyance before asking "Is this a joke? Are you braindead? Run. Into. The. Bull-" Flowey begins but almost immediately stops and corrects his near slip up "FRIENDLINESS PELLETS!"

Once again the little white pellets appeared and advanced on the child. And once again the child stepped aside. Flowey was finished, his face immediately shifts to a skeletal frame as he says "You know what's going on here, don't you? You just wanted to see me suffer." Suddenly a huge complete circle of pellets surrounds the child. "Die!" Flowey cries as the circle begins to constrict. Flowey laughs maniacally as the child frantically thinks of a way out.

However, the circle suddenly disappears. "What the?" Flowey questions, suddenly glancing around for something. What sounded like quiet...singing? Could be heard. "Woah, what's...going on? Suddenly I...feel..." Flowey would yawn before finishing "Really... sleepy..." shortly after finishing that statement Flowey passes out. Suddenly out of nowhere something grabs the child's hand. "Come with me, quick! I don't know how long he'll stay asleep!" it says before leading the child out of the room.

Suddenly leaving the dark caves the child finds themselves in what appears to be ruins made of pink stone. It is now that the child acquires a good look at their savior. It appeared to be some kind of...goat creature? Wearing a big green hat with what appeared to be horns poking out of the sides. A matching green robe with a small white upside down heart on it. The most prominent feature however was the red scarf that clashed greatly against the creature's green clothing. But it still looked nice.

However, the child was still quite unsure of what it was as they only had the outline to go off of. The giant hat obscured most of their features in darkness. However, the child did spy a pair of glasses under the hat peering at them. It's eyes seemed friendly. And it wasn't much taller than themselves. Overall though, coupled with the giant floppy ears, the horns, and the visible snout the creature seemed to be caprine in nature. Yet it had paws...and fangs? Although the child supposed this was the least strange thing about it considering it seemed to be a goat walking upright and talking to them.

"Are you alright? Did it hurt you? Do you need me to heal you?" It asks frantically. The child finally finds the nerve to speak and answers "No, I'm fine." The creature sighs of relief before speaking again.

"I'm glad. I was worried that I was a little late. You must be so confused. Maybe I should explain. B-but, I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is 'RALSEI'. What's your name?" Ralsei asks the human. The human hesitates for only a moment before blurting out "I-I'm FRISK."

"Frisk, huh? That's a nice name." Ralsei says with a smile. "What is this place?" Frisk asks. "Hm? OH! Oh right. Well, this is the UNDERGROUND! Home of the MONSTERS!" Ralsei responds. "M-monsters?!" Frisk stammers. "Y-you're not g-gonna eat me are you?!" They ask in fear. Ralsei seems confused for a moment before responding "N-no! Of course not! I promise I won't hurt you." Ralsei assures them.

"Anyway, we should get going now. I shouldn't even be here. If mom finds out I snuck out of the house again she's gonna flip!" Ralsei says. "Mom?" Frisk asks. "Yes. These are the RUINS. My mom is the caretaker of this place. Don't worry, you'll like her. She's really nice!" Ralsei assures. "Come on, let's go!" Ralsei says before walking ahead up the stairs. Frisk however takes notice of a small yellow light emanating from in between the 2 ascending staircases.

(The shadow of the RUINS looms above, filling you with determination!)

(HP fully restored.)

(File saved!)

Frisk is puzzled by this, but their thought process is interrupted when Ralsei asks "Are you coming?" Upon hearing this Frisk immediately responds "C-coming!" and ascends the stairs. Proceeding through the doorway Frisk would be led by Ralsei into a room with 6 grey stone buttons on the floor. A yellow switch, and a great big door next to said switch.

"What's all this?" Frisk asks. "Oh, this is a PUZZLE." Ralsei answers, before continuing. "Almost every room here has one, you have to solve them to get around." "Why not just use keys?" Frisk asks in confusion. "These puzzles are security. They were constructed during the war to keep humans from getting in." Ralsei responds. "War?" Frisk asks again, now even more confused. "Oh! You don't know about... Well I'll tell you all about it later. But for now let's get this puzzle out of the way." Ralsei pushes up on his glasses as he finishes this statement. Before then saying "Don't worry, I know the solution to this puzzle." He assures before stepping on the buttons in a strange pattern before proceeding to flip the switch.

However...nothing happens. "W-what? I could've sworn... No, no, hold on." Ralsei tries once again stepping on the buttons in a strange order before flipping the yellow switch yet again. But again, nothing happens. "Uh oh..." Ralsei whispers to himself. However despite that, Frisk hears this and asks "Something wrong?" "N-no!...Of course not." Ralsei responds. "Then what's the problem?" Frisk asks. "..." Ralsei falls silent. His gaze then cast downward his expression one of panicked thoughts.

It was quite clear at this point Ralsei had no idea what he was doing. With no other ideas of what to do Frisk decides to attempt the puzzle themselves. Of course it yields the exact same results as Ralsei's attempts. However it was then Frisk took notice of something on the wall. A small pattern of bricks thinly outlined. They noticed that 4 of them were pushed in deeper than the others leaving 2 unpressed. Upon closer inspection these bricks were in the same formation as the buttons on the floor.

With this, Frisk steps on the buttons mimicking the bricks on the wall. Flipping the switch the door opens. Ralsei's train of thought is broken by the sound of the door opening. "O-oh, you solved it." He says. "Sorry about that. I don't know what happened, I just completely forgot..." Ralsei apologizes. He then continues with "A-anyway... Let's get moving. Maybe if we're lucky we can get back before mom notices I'm gone." before proceeding through the door into the next room. Frisk follows behind.

This room was rather long and had 2 bridges each with a stream underneath. On the wall were 3 switches. 1 by itself and 2 next to each other near the exit. Blocking said exit to the next room were spikes protruding from the ground. "Don't worry! This one will be easy, mom marked the switches that need to be flipped." Ralsei assures. And he was right as 2 of the switches had multiple arrows drawn around them. Likely indicating them as the correct choice.

Upon flipping both switches the spikes recede into the ground. "See? Easy!" Ralsei assures. With that Ralsei, and Frisk proceed into the next room. This room contained nothing save for the path to the next room, and a single training dummy. "O-oh. This is the FIGHT practice room. While we're here, I should probably explain FIGHTs to you now. As a human down here, monsters may attack you. So, you should be ready if this happens. It's really easy though, so don't worry. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you're in a FIGHT, start a friendly conversation. Stall for time, while you distract them I'll pacify them! Here, let's practice on this dummy here." Ralsei finishes his explanation.

Frisk approaches the dummy. "..." Without warning Frisk would then suddenly hug Ralsei. "F-Frisk?!" Ralsei blushes at this. "U-ummm. I don't think um.. This isn't exactly what I wanted you to do.... but..." Frisk would then release their hug and bring their attention back to the dummy. "A-anyway. Try ACTing Frisk. Talk to the dummy." Ralsei requests. However, Frisk would instead hug Ralsei yet again. "!....Ummmm....uhhhhhh...I mean. It's not that I don't like hugs... But, I-I'm trying to teach you something Frisk. Maybe you could save the hugs for later?" Ralsei asks. Frisk would then release Ralsei before nodding approvingly.

"A-alright. Like I said Frisk, try talking to the dummy." Ralsei asks. Frisk stares at the dummy for a moment. "So, you see any good movies lately?" Frisk asks awkwardly. "..." "Do. You. Wanna see a movie with me?!" Frisk asks with a seductive tone. "F-Frisk?!" Ralsei blurts out in embarrassment. "What? You said to talk to the dummy." Frisk retorts with a grin. "I said have a friendly conversation. N-not try to date it... I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that. You can date whatever you want but... I don't think a dummy would make a very good partner..." Ralsei responds. Before continuing. "W-well, I guess that works though." He would then sing a quiet song before casting a pacifying spell on the dummy. However nothing happens. "So, that's it?" Frisk asks. "Well it's a dummy so... You can't really put a dummy to sleep..." Ralsei replies. "Let's move on to the next room." Ralsei continues before proceeding through the door.

Frisk would then follow Ralsei through the passage into a large but empty room. Proceeding from the room into a winding hallway. However while proceeding through this hallway, Frisk encounters a Froggit! "Froggit." The Froggit croaks. "Oh! Ummm." Frisk stammers out before saying "You have, uhhh smooth skin?" Froggit however does not understand what Frisk had said but was flattered anyway. Ralsei would once again begin singing a quiet song. Froggit would then suddenly fall asleep. [YOU WON! You earned 0 XP and 0 gold.] "See Frisk? It's simple!" Ralsei says with a smile. Frisk gives a thumbs up.

Ralsei would then lead Frisk through the rest of the hall. The 2 would then emerge into the next room. This room was mostly dominated by water, however the entrance and exit of this room were connected by a bridge covered in spike traps. Frisk immediately becomes a little wary at this sight. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Frisk asks. "Don't worry! I know what to do. See, there's a certain path you have to take. The spikes won't hurt you if you follow it. Trust me!" Ralsei assures before extending his hand for Frisk to take. Frisk would hesitate for a few moments before locking their hand with Ralsei's. "Okay, I trust you." Frisk says.

And with that Ralsei would begin to slowly lead Frisk through the trap. Stepping forward the spikes would recede below them. So far, so good... They're about halfway across the bridge when suddenly *click* "H-huh?" Frisk utters. Suddenly the spikes that had receded below them rise up and impale both Frisk and Ralsei. It was so strange. It happened so fast. Everything went black, suddenly however Frisk would find themselves standing before the twin staircases to the RUINs. Right in front of that light they had touched earlier.

"W-what? How?...It's as if everything has...reset?" Frisk mutters to themself. However their confused thoughts would be interrupted by Ralsei asking "Are you coming?" "C-coming!" Frisk replies before following Ralsei up the stairs. Unsure of what had even happened Frisk, ultimately decides to just do exactly what they had done before. Right up until reaching the spike trap. Frisk had noticed something in the room leading up to the trap. There had been a path highlighted on the ground.

Perhaps this was the solution? Before Ralsei could even speak Frisk would wordlessly take his hand and follow the path that had been laid out in the previous room. And it seems their assumption was correct as they cross the spike bridge with no problems. "F-Frisk? H-how did you?" Ralsei was obviously quite puzzled by this. "Heh, I guess I'm just really good at puzzles?" Frisk would answer with a hint of nervousness. While confused Ralsei simply decides to brush this off and continue. "Well, I hope you're not tired yet Frisk." Ralsei says before finishing with "There aren't any traps in the next room, but it's a really long walk."

And it seems he was right as proceeding into the next room there was nothing other than a VERY long hall with a single pillar standing at the end. With that, Ralsei, and Frisk would proceed down the long hall. As expected, it was very uneventful. Nothing interesting happens. Besides Frisk tripping on a vine. After a long and boring walk they finally reach the end of the chamber and proceed into the next room. Upon entering there was another door immediately to the north and a path leading to the south. However on the floor in a pile of red leaves was a light almost exactly like the one at the beginning of the ruins.

Without hesitation Frisk touches it.

(Playfully crinkling through the leaves fills you with determination.)

(HP fully restored.)

(File saved.)

Frisk still wasn't entirely sure what that meant. But it seems that if they were to 'Die' they could simply return to this point. This is a very powerful ability that should be used wisely. Frisk decides to investigate the northern room to find a small bowl of candy on a pedestal. On it is a note that says "Take one." Frisk takes a piece of candy from the bowl and proceeds to eat it. It didn't taste like any candy they've had before. I guess it makes sense that they wouldn't have human candy down here. Atleast not in such a large quantity.

Still though, it tasted pretty good. Frisk decides to take another one. Ralsei immediately pipes up "Frisk!" Ralsei cries "What? Nobody is around to see." Frisk replies with a mischievous smile. "But...it says 'Take one.' Frisk!" Ralsei insists. "Come on Ralsei, have a little fun!" Frisk insists.

"B-but Frisk." Ralsei mutters before Frisk interrupts with "It's just candy!" they say "Mom says that just because something is fun doesn't mean you should do it..." Ralsei mutters. "Gee, you said she was nice, but your mom kinda sounds like a stick in the mud honestly." Frisk replies. "Well, it's just that... She's really concerned about my safety. Ever since the others left she's been getting more and more worried." Ralsei says. Frisk perks up at this. "Others?"

"What do you mean by others?" Frisk inquires. "Hm? O-oh yes right. You're not the first human to arrive down here." Ralsei says "I'm not?" Frisk asks. "Y-yes, as a matter of fact there were 6 before you in total." Ralsei responds. "6?!" Frisk exclaims. "Y-yes." Ralsei confirms. "What happened to them?" Frisk asks with a hint of worry. "Oh, they left the ruins. Mom said they'd come back one day...they never did..." Ralsei mutters. That last statement had a definite sign of sorrow in it. "S-she said to just wait for them and that they'd be back eventually... That was a while ago though. I've been by myself down here for a long time now. Well, besides mom of course." Ralsei says.

"I've never really had any friends..." Ralsei states. "So, you weren't friends with them?" Frisk asks. "Well, they always left before I could really get to know them..." Ralsei answers. "I'll be your friend." Frisk says with a smile. "R-really? I mean, you don't have to-" Ralsei begins but is interrupted by Frisk hugging them. Ralsei once again blushes "I-I....ummm....I mean. O-okay!" he says. "Now, come on. I wanna meet this mom of yours." Frisk states releasing their hug before leaving the room. Ralsei would follow behind. The 2 would proceed deeper into the ruins solving more puzzles. Nothing of real interest happens for a while. The next few puzzles are quite easily solved.

The 2 then find themselves in a small hall with a mousehole in the wall and a table with a single slice of cheese sitting on it. Next to this table is once again another one of those yellow lights. Frisk touches it.

(Knowing the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese...)

(It fills you with determination.)

(HP fully restored.)

(File saved.)

"I wonder who left this cheese here?" Ralsei ponders. He would then attempt to inspect the cheese only to find it is stuck to the table. "W-wait a minute...This cheese is fake! No wonder the mouse never got it. It's not even real!" Ralsei states. After discovering the secret of the cheese Frisk and Ralsei would proceed into the next room. This room had 2 sides. Linked by a small path in the center. And in the center was a pile of red leaves and a...a ghost?! Lying on top of the pile. "zzzzzzzzzzzzzz... zzzzzzzzzzzz... zzzzzzzzzz... (Are they gone yet?) zzzzzzzzz..." The ghost says. It appeared it was simply a ghost pretending to be asleep saying "Zzz" out loud. How very peculiar.

"Um." Frisk mutters unsure of what to do. "Excuse me-" Ralsei begins but before they can even finish the ghost pipes up. "Oh...I'm sorry...am I in your way?...Sorry." before fading out of sight. Both Frisk and Ralsei look at each other in confusion, before shrugging at each other and continuing on. The next hour or so is spent solving puzzles. Ralsei was able to solve some of them himself but once again he failed to recall the solution to some. Luckily however Frisk was able to figure it out. Before long they find themselves before Ralsei's home. A large tree which seemed to have shed its leaves stood before them. And just beyond it was what appeared to be a house etched out of the very stone of the ruins.However just as the two approached someone emerged from the door. "Ralsei?! Ralsei?!" it cries.

It appeared to be a goat monster of some kind much like Ralsei. But much taller and feminine. It was wearing a robe as well that bore a strange symbol Frisk had never seen before. Frisk quickly determined this must be Ralsei's mother. Almost immediately the monster would catch sight of Ralsei and rush over to him. "My child! What did I tell you about wandering the ruins without my supervision?! You know it's dangerous..." she says with obvious concern in her voice. "I'm sorry mom. It's just so boring sitting in the house all day." Ralsei says. "You know you could've gotten yourself hurt out there. Those traps are not toys!" she says with a stern tone. "Mom, you say everything is dangerous." Ralsei mutters. "My child. I am sorry, I just don't want to lose you, that's all." she assures before hugging Ralsei. As she was hugging Ralsei however she would glance over to see Frisk standing there idly observing them.

She would then release Ralsei before asking "O-oh! Ralsei, who is this?" with a slight hint of concern "Another human mom, they fell down." Ralsei answers. "My apologies small one, I had not seen you there. I am TORIEL. I'm sure you already know, this is my son RALSEI." Toriel says. "You're just in time. I had just finished baking a butterscotch cinnamon pie. Come my children." Toriel says before returning to her home. Frisk and Ralsei gaze at each other for a moment before following behind. Entering the home Frisk was actually quite surprised. It appeared to be much like a human home on the surface. Before them just adjacent to the entrance was a stairwell that seemed to lead into some kind of basement.

To the right was a hall with a few doors and to the left appeared to be a living room. "Now then my child." Toriel says, looking to Frisk. "I feel so rude right now, as I just realized I had not asked your name!" Toriel says. "I'm Frisk." Frisk replies. "Well then, Frisk, please come with me." Toriel says before taking Frisk's hand and leading them down the hall to the first room on the left. Ralsei follows closely. "I hope you don't mind, but you'll have to share a room with my son. I hope this isn't a problem?" Toriel asks. Frisk nods in approval. Suddenly the smell of something burning filled the air. "Uh oh...uhhh make yourself at home!" Toriel says before quickly dashing away towards the living room.

"We get to be roommates! Isn't that nice Frisk?" Ralsei asks in joyful glee. Frisk gives a thumbs up. "Well, while mom is dealing with that... I guess I'll show you your new room." Ralsei says before opening the door. Ralsei would then reach over and flick on the lightswitch revealing the room that Frisk would be staying in. The right side of the room was rather dull and barren looking with a simple red wallpaper. With a bed that had matching red blankets and a dresser close by. The left side of the room however was decorated in dark but interesting looking colors. The wallpaper was what seemed to be a black and blue outline of a castle. Or multiple castles? The wall of a castle? Either way it was quite interesting. There was of course also a dresser along with a bed. The sheets were a dark blue color to match the decor of that side.

There also appeared to be a chest of toys at the foot of the bed as well. Finally both sides of the room had a lamp next to them. Perhaps for late night reading? Either way it looked rather nice. Although Frisk did ponder why their side of the room was so barren in comparison. Almost as if in response to Frisk's thought Ralsei says "Don't worry, you can decorate your side however you want." "Oh, okay." Frisk replies. "Don't worry, I can share some of my toys with you until mom gets you some." Ralsei assures. "Here, let me show you some of my favorites!" Ralsei says opening the chest and reaching inside. The next few hours seemed to fly by as Ralsei shared his toy collection with Frisk.

Eventually the 2 found themselves tired and lying in their own respective beds. Ralsei in his bed with his blue sheets surrounded by his castle wallpaper. Then there was Frisk laying in their bed with their blank red wallpaper with red sheets. They both stared up at the ceiling. Frisk however was now abuzz with curiosity. Now seemed like the best time to question Ralsei. "So, Ralsei... I've been meaning to ask. Who was that Flowey, guy?" Frisk asks. Ralsei rolls over in their bed to face Frisk. "I-I don't really like him." Ralsei responds. "He wasn't always here though, he showed up awhile ago. He's always mean to me." Frisk, could tell Ralsei, was a bit uncomfortable discussing this. But they had to know. "Mean? Mean how?" Frisk asks. "He says mean things to me." Ralsei answers. "Like what?" Frisk asks.

Ralsei, would hesitate for a moment. A sadness could be seen in his eyes, and Frisk, could see it plain as day. "H-he'd tell me things like I...I shouldn't have been born. Or that I should be dead. Things like that..." Frisk is a bit shocked by this, although not surprised considering how this Flowey, did try to kill them earlier. "Did you tell your mom about him?" Frisk, asks. "N-no...She doesn't think he's real." Ralsei, responds with a bit of a tear in his eyes.

"She doesn't?" Frisk, asks puzzled. "No. She's never even seen him. Any time I try to show her he disappears. Whenever I tell her she just thinks I'm making it up. Like it's all a nightmare or something." Ralsei answers. "He never shows up when mom is around. I think he might be scared of her." Ralsei says. "Well, do you know anything about him? Like any idea why he messes with you?" Frisk asks. "I...I think he's jealous of me...or something..." Ralsei answers. "Really?" Frisk asks. "Yeah? He'd always say how he should be me or something like that. I don't know why though." Ralsei responds.

"Says that I can't replace him. I still have no idea what that means." Ralsei states. It was quite clear this Flowey made Ralsei scared and confused. He was clearly uncomfortable discussing this subject. Unsure of what else to ask Frisk decides to change the subject. "So...what about the other humans you mentioned?" Frisk inquires. "Hm? Oh. Them... Well, what do you want to know?" Ralsei asks. "Who was the first?" Frisk questions. "I-I can't really tell you that much. I wasn't even born. They died before I could meet them. All I know is that they were my adoptive sibling. They were friends with my older brother..." Ralsei answers.

Older brother? Frisk was definitely curious now. "You mean like, by blood? What do you know about your older brother?" Frisk asks. "His name was Asriel. I never met them. Like I said, he died before I was born. Apparently him and the first human were friends. But something happened to them. Mom doesn't really like to talk about it." Ralsei says. "Why not?" Frisk asks. "I-I don't know...whenever I ask she'd always change the subject." Ralsei answers. Frisk could tell Ralsei was becoming stressed from all of these questions. Being satisfied with their answers Frisk decides to let up.

"Sorry, Ralsei." Frisk says. "I just wanted to know is all. I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble." Frisk states. "No, no. I-It's okay. I'm sorry I don't really know that much. If I knew more I'd tell you but... mom just doesn't like it when I ask." Ralsei says. "It's okay, don't worry about it. Why don't we just go to sleep?" Frisk asks. "Yeah. Maybe some sleep will help me feel better." Ralsei says before reaching over to his lamp's pull cord. "Good night Frisk." Ralsei would say before turning off his lamp. Frisk would then follow suit by turning off their own lamp and saying "Good night Ralsei..."

And with that the 2 drifted off to sleep.

To be continued…

(Thanks to anyone who points out my errors. I’m stupid so I tend to make alot of them. I’ll try my best to fix them.)


	2. Chapter 1: Interlude - A Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small interlude between chapters 1 and 2 where Ralsei has a nightmare.

Frisk would awaken from their slumber for an as of yet unknown reason. They would sit up in their bed and rub their eyes before looking at the clock high up on the wall. *2 AM.* They were confused and wondered what had woke them. They didn't need to use the bathroom so what... Suddenly Frisk's attention would be drawn to a small noise, barely audible. At first they thought it was coming from outside the room. But as they focused their hearing more they discovered it was coming from the other side of the room.

They quietly climbed out of bed and tiptoed towards the sound. It quickly becomes clear that it was coming from Ralsei's bed. Frisk gazes up to see what it could be. On the small end table next to the bed Ralsei's hat and glasses both sat while Ralsei lies there facing the wall. Getting a little closer Frisk finally begins to make out what the sound is. It...sounds like sniffling. Frisk was now standing over Ralsei in the dark room who was facing the wall likely unaware of Frisk's presence. Or if they were they certainly did not make it known.

Frisk however could now tell exactly what Ralsei was doing. Ralsei was quietly sobbing. This must be what had awakened them. They must have heard Ralsei's quiet sobbing which stirred them from slumber. Frisk would gently place their hand on Ralsei's shoulder and whisper. "Ralsei...are you alright?" Ralsei would not respond at first, simply continuing to sob. "Ralsei, why are you crying? You can tell me. I promise I won't laugh, even if it's something silly." Frisk assures. Ralsei then stops sobbing.

He lays there quietly for a few moments before rolling over to face Frisk. The outline of Ralsei's saddened face gazing at Frisk in the dark room, although it was dark Frisk could still see the trails under his eyes his tears had left. If only faintly. "Oh, Frisk. Did I wake you? S-sorry...Don't worry about it, just go back to bed..." Ralsei says quietly.

"Ralsei, please... Tell me why you were crying." Frisk requests. Frisk could tell Ralsei didn't want to talk about it. But they felt they needed to know to help him feel better.Ralsei would pause for a moment likely pondering for a moment whether they should tell or not. However it seemed he had to decided to after all as he asked.

"A-are you sure you want me to tell you?" Ralsei asks hesitantly. "Yes. Please. I just want to help is all." Frisk answers. Ralsei sniffles for a moment before saying "I-I had a nightmare." "A nightmare? About what?" Frisk asks. "F-Flowey..." Ralsei answers in a shaky voice. "Alright, what happened?" Frisk would ask in concern."I always have nightmares about him. They always feel so real too... They're always different. But, usually they end when he..." Ralsei would stop, tears welling in his eyes. "When he what?" Asks Frisk now more concerned than ever.

Ralsei answers in a mere whisper. "When he kills me..." Frisk was shocked but would immediately ask. "So, he killed you then?" "N-no...not this time." Ralsei responds. It would take him a moment, wiping away tears before continuing with. "This time, he...he killed mom. The worst part is...he laughed afterwards... When I started crying he just laughed and laughed. And then I woke up." With that Frisk would hug Ralsei. "It's okay. It was just a nightmare. You're fine, and mom is safe. And I'm here now. I promise, nobody is gonna hurt you or mom. Okay?" Frisk says reassuringly.

Ralsei would cry on Frisk's shoulder for what would seem like hours although it was likely only a few minutes before finally saying. "Frisk...y-you're a good friend. You've only known me for such a short time yet...you care so much? Why?" asks Ralsei. "Well, honestly Ralsei. You're the friend I've always wanted." Frisk answers. "R-really?" says Ralsei in a questioning tone. "Of course." Frisk replies.

"So, have you never really had a friend before either?" Ralsei asks. "No. Not really... I mean, I knew people but, I've never really had an actual friend." Frisk answers. Ralsei however was unconvinced with this answer "Surely there has to be something else..." Ralsei insists."...Well....actually." Frisk begins hesitantly. Now they were the ones discussing something uncomfortable for them.

"You're...well, kinda all I have now. You, and mom. Honestly I was lucky to find you both, let alone survive that fall." Frisk says. "W-what happened?" Ralsei asks, now curious. "Well...I won't go into too much detail but... I lost my family. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and I didn't want to go to foster care... So I ran away. I went up into the mountains looking for a place to call my home and...well. I accidentally fell into a hole. You know the rest." Frisk explains."I...I had no idea." Ralsei says.

"Yup. I was all alone. But then I found you guys. I don't want to lose my family again. I won't lose my family again! I promise I'll protect you Ralsei. You don't have to worry about Flowey anymore. Because I'm here!" Frisk says with confidence.

Ralsei would begin crying again but not for the same reason as before, embracing Frisk once again. "Thank you Frisk...thank you so much..."To be continued.alsei says. "Yup. I was all alone. But then I found you guys. I don't want to lose my family again. I won't lose my family again! I promise I'll protect you Ralsei. You don't have to worry about Flowey anymore. Because I'm here!" Frisk says with confidence.

Ralsei would begin crying again but not for the same reason as before, embracing Frisk once again.  
"Thank you Frisk...thank you so much..."  
To be continued.


	3. Chapter 2: Finding Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now hungry for more information, Frisk searches Toriel's home for any info regarding the previous children.

(Author's note: I have very mixed feelings about this chapter, I both love it and hate it for many reasons. Hopefully it's not as bad as I think it is but I had to get the plot moving somehow. So this is what I decided upon. I eventually reasoned I was going to think it was bad no matter how hard I tried. So I gave up and just released what I had. Hopefully you'll somehow find it enjoyable. I hope future chapters won't have this problem to the same degree. I fought with myself pretty hard on this one.)

Frisk awakens, yawning and stretching. They gaze up at the clock to see it is 9 AM. If it wasn't for the clock they probably wouldn't have been able to tell it was morning considering there's no natural light in the house they called home. Frisk gazes over to Ralsei's side of the room to see he isn't there. It is then Frisk's attention is brought to the plate with a piece of pie sitting on the end table next to their bed. Frisk had been so occupied yesterday by their time with Ralsei they had completely forgotten about the pie. Toriel must've left it there while they were sleeping.

It seemed Ralsei had already gotten up and eaten his piece judging by the empty plate on his own end table. "Welp, might as well." Frisk thought before digging in. After finishing their pie Frisk climbs out of bed and opens the door, proceeding out into the hall before closing it behind them. Frisk gazes around for a moment before proceeding over to the living room. There they find Ralsei sitting on the floor by the fireplace reading a book. Ralsei would then look up from his book to see Frisk. "Oh! Frisk, you're awake." Says Ralsei. "Mhm. Where's mom?" asks Frisk. "Oh, she's out shopping right now. So it's just us here. Mom says we have to stay inside and not go outside until she gets back." Ralsei says.

"Even when she was here you said you had to sneak out though?" Frisk states in confusion. "Mom never lets me out of the house without her watching me." Ralsei replies. "I know she cares about us and all but, don't you think she's being a little overprotective at times?" Frisk asks. "I mean... She wasn't like this. At least, not to this degree." says Ralsei. "What happened?" Frisk asks. "The other humans did." Ralsei responds. "The ones that left?" Frisk asks. "Yes. With every single one that left the ruins and never came back, mom got more and more worried about me. Now she's almost always keeping an eye on me..." Ralsei says.

"Didn't she tell you they'd come back one day?" Frisk asks. "Y-yes. I've been waiting ever since..." Ralsei replies. Frisk wasn't sure what to think about this. They didn't want to assume the worst, especially because of Ralsei. But, maybe there was hope? "Have you ever considered going to look for them?" Frisk asks. "N-no, of course not. Mom would obliterate me if I did!" Ralsei responds obviously disapproving of this idea. "But, what if they're out there somewhere? What if they're in trouble?" Frisk pleads.

Ralsei had never actually considered this...what if they were stuck somewhere, what if they were captured and being held captive by the monsters?... What if they were waiting for Ralsei to come save them but he never came?! Suddenly with this thought Ralsei, would feel an overwhelming guilt. But he still could not disobey his mother like that. She would surely not like the idea of him running out there looking for 6 humans in a place he knew nothing about. On top of that they could be anywhere in the entire underground! How would he even find them?

But at the same time...he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. But, what could he do? Meanwhile Frisk simply stares at Ralsei who is clearly deep in thought. Frisk sighs, before saying "I'm sorry Ralsei. I probably shouldn't have said that. I guess I'm just a little overprotective myself..." Frisk could tell by the look on Ralsei's face he felt sorrowful in some way. It seemed their words had clearly caused a negative reaction. "No. You're right." Ralsei says gazing downwards. Frisk tilts their head in an inquisitive manner at this statement.

Tears would then begin to well up in Ralsei's eyes as he says "I should've tried to stop them... I thought of them as my friends yet... I just let them wander out there into danger. What kind of friend am I?!" before removing his glasses and placing his paws over his eyes. Frisk was now the one feeling guilty. It seemed their hopefulness had caused the complete opposite reaction they had intended. Frisk simply wanted to give Ralsei hope that they were still out there somewhere, but instead they've only ended up making him blame himself for something that was likely out of his control.

Frisk would then move to comfort Ralsei, sitting beside him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "It isn't your fault. They left of their own free will. Your mom didn't want you going after them because she was afraid you'd hurt yourself. That's all, after all you are just a kid too y'know..." Frisk attempts to reassure Ralsei with these words. Ralsei however would then go on to ask. "But, then why didn't mom go after them? Why didn't mom help them if I couldn't?!" Frisk had no idea how to answer this one as he did not have an answer either. However an idea had just then struck Frisk.

"You said mom was out shopping right?" Frisk asks. "Y-yeah? Why?" Ralsei replies hesitantly. "Well, maybe we'll find answers in mom's room." Frisk proposes. "Mom's room?!" Ralsei croaks out. "I-I don't know about that. I don't think mom would like us snooping around her room..." says Ralsei. "Ralsei, now might be the only time to find answers." Frisk pleads. Frisk continues "This might be our one chance." Ralsei knew they were right... They had to know why. "Alright...L-let's do it." Ralsei declares with hesitance. With that Ralsei closes his book, standing up he places it back on the shelf before proceeding out of the room. Frisk would follow behind.

They would pass the front door and the basement stairs, going down the hall and finally finding themselves at the second to last room of the hall. Toriel's room. Frisk would then try the knob, only to find it was locked. “Dang it.” Frisk mutters quietly in frustration. "Don't worry," says Ralsei "I know where she keeps the spare key..." Ralsei would then proceed over to a small table with a pot on it, seemingly for decoration. Ralsei would reach inside the pot and pull out a small key. "How?" Frisk asks. "I... I watched her place it there a long time ago. I just never had a reason to use it...until now I guess." with that Ralsei would insert the key into the keyhole, turning the knob, opening the door.

Frisk and Ralsei enter Toriel's room. It was, surprisingly blue. No literally. The wallpaper was blue, the carpet was blue. The bedsheets were blue... I guess Toriel likes consistency? She had a rather large bed, obviously big enough for herself. There was also a rather tall plant sitting in a pot next to the bed. A large bookcase with a cactus and a golden flower in a pot on top stood next to it. And next to it was a dresser with a lamp. Across the room from the dresser was another cactus but this one was much larger. Frisk and Ralsei's attention however would be drawn to the desk at the foot of Toriel's bed. In front of it was a chair large enough for one of Toriel's stature, and on the desk was a lamp, an open book and some other papers.

Frisk and Ralsei would approach the desk to inspect what the open book was lying open on the desk. It appeared to be...a joke book? "Why couldn't the skeleton go to the prom? He had no BODY to dance with!" Frisk would emit a small chuckle upon reading this while Ralsei seemed to have no reaction at all. This was not what they were looking for. The papers next to the joke book were also unimportant and seemed to be nothing more than old shopping lists. They needed to find something like Toriel's diary. If she even had one that is...

Frisk would begin scavenging the room while also trying their best not to leave objects out of place. Toriel would likely be furious if she found out they were scouring her room without permission. Eventually they find themselves inspecting Toriel's bed. It was then Frisk found something. Under Toriel's pillow. It appeared to be a decently sized unmarked book. Opening it to the first page it became clear Frisk had found what they were looking for. This was Toriel's diary! Ralsei sees this and immediately tenses up. "F-Frisk?! M-maybe we shouldn't!" he croaks. "We have to." Frisk assures before flipping through the pages trying to find anything about the previous children. Skimming through the pages Frisk finds a lot of mundanity, a lot of day to day activity. "Little Ralsei said his first word today!" Frisk flips a few more pages “I'll have to remember to pick up supplies for Ralsei's birthday next week."

Eventually however, Frisk would find what they were looking for. "Something happened today. Something I did not expect. Something I hoped wouldn't happen. I had little Ralsei with me. I was heading home with the supplies for his birthday party when I heard something. I went to check, and I found a human child. They were unconscious but alright. At first I wasn't sure what to do. I had Ralsei in my arms already and had the grocery bags in the other arm. But I couldn't just leave them there either. I decided to drop the bags and come back for them later. Hopefully they won't be absconded with in my absence."

"But this child's safety came first. I carried them home in my arms. It was admittedly difficult carrying a human child with a single arm. But I somehow managed it. Though I felt as if my arm was going to fall off by the time I made it home. Those puzzles can be quite annoying when you're in a hurry. I left them in the spare bed in Ralsei's room. I was finally able to return for my groceries. I had to be swift though, the last thing I wanted was the child awakening alone in a place they did not know. Unfortunately, however, by the time I returned the child was already awake. They were scared of me at first, thinking I was going to eat them or something. How silly!" Frisk turns to the next page.

"Thankfully though I was able to get them to calm down. They seem rather nice. Ralsei seems to like them too." Frisk was intrigued now. But they didn't have time to read through everything. Toriel could come home at any time. So they began skimming through pages. Frisk however would come to a stop on a page that seemed more sloppily written than the previous ones, as if it was written under stress. "The child is gone! I went to check on them in the morning to find the door hanging open. Ralsei was still asleep in his crib, but Sabirah was gone!" Frisk pauses for a moment. "Sabirah?" Frisk pondered. This must have been the child's name. Frisk continued reading.

"All she left behind was her ribbon and her toy knife. Downstairs I found the basement door ajar, she had fled the ruins. I was dumbstruck. I didn't know what to do. I should have went after her... But instead I simply sat in my room and sobbed. Did she really hate me that much she would just run like that? Perhaps she didn't even want me to go after her... Somehow though... I just felt so helpless. I knew it was somehow too late, and even if I did go after her. Would she had even listened to me? On top of all of that, I couldn't just leave little Ralsei all alone. All the same, however, this is all my fault. This child's blood is now on my hands. I have no one to blame but myself. I should have paid more attention to her. I should have seen the signs. But instead I did nothing... I'm a terrible mother. I've lost a 3rd child..."

Frisk noticed this page was stained with something. Small stains from something wet were littered all over the page. "W-what does it say Frisk?" Ralsei asks. Frisk froze for a moment. Not sure what to say, it seemed Toriel was certain somehow this one had died. And even if she hadn't she wouldn't have complied anyway. It also seemed Ralsei was a baby at the time. So it certainly was far too late to save her. But Frisk couldn't tell Ralsei this. Frisk hated lying, but they didn't want to break Ralsei's heart. "It says the first child ran away. Mom just woke up and she was gone." Frisk tells him. "O-oh..." Ralsei responds with his head downcast. It seemed just the mere revelation that the child had ran away saddened Ralsei.

"B-but, the others might still be okay! Here let me take a look." Frisk says attempting to reassure Ralsei before beginning to skim through the pages yet again. Frisk read through the pages trying to garner any information they could about the other 5 humans. They all told a similar tale. Some still had families on the surface and desired to go home. Others much like the 1st snuck out while Toriel wasn't attending them. 1 was different however, and intended to save the other humans. They had apparently come looking for them. This child was older than the others it seemed. Around 15 to 16. Clad in a cowboy hat and wielding a revolver they left the ruins looking for them. Toriel tried to stop them but she couldn't convince them not to leave.

Frisk was hopeful however, despite how much time may have passed between these occurrences. There was still a chance they were alive and out there somewhere. After all, it's not like Toriel had ever found their bodies or anything of the sort. It wasn't impossible. However, it all made sense now. They all had left of their own free will. Either they had their own families back home, or they simply did not want to live underground. They all chose to leave. They could still be in danger however. Frisk had to know if they were alright. Frisk's train of thought however would be interrupted by the sound of the door creaking open.

Frisk and Ralsei would both immediately tense up in fear as they slowly turned around to find Toriel standing at the open door with a surprised expression. This surprise however would quickly shift into a stern look. "My children...What do you think you're doing?" Toriel asks before walking over and taking the diary out of Frisk's hand. "Don't you know it's rude to look through other people's things?" She would then place the diary on top of the bookshelf well out of Frisk and Ralsei's reach. "T-Toriel I-I mean mom! I can explain-" Frisk would begin to say however they would be cut off by Toriel saying. "Please leave." She would then gently escort them both out of the room before closing and locking the door behind her.

"I don't know what you two were doing in there, or why you were reading my diary. But I am very disappointed in you..." Toriel states. "Invading my privacy like that. You wouldn't like it if I read your diary without your permission would you my child?" Toriel asks. "I-I-I-I" Frisk stutters unable to answer. Toriel simply sighs and says "Go to your room." without question Frisk and Ralsei would both walk down the hall to their room and sit inside. For awhile Frisk and Ralsei said nothing, simply exchanging glances as they sat on their beds. Frisk was now abuzz with conflict. Unsure of what to do now. They wanted to go and rescue the other children, thinking they might still be alive out there and in danger. But at the same time they did not want to leave their new family behind. Ralsei... Toriel... Frisk had nothing left besides them.

But those other kids, they might still have families to go back to... Frisk couldn't bear that thought, Frisk knew the pain of losing family.

They wouldn't wish it on anyone else. With that however, Frisk made up their mind. They had to... They just hoped Ralsei could forgive them. Surprisingly enough Toriel didn't punish them further beyond sending them to their room. In Fact she later came in and apologized for being so stern with them. But made a point to respect the privacy of others. The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Surprisingly things went back to normal quite quickly after the fact. Atleast up until that night. Lying there in bed, Frisk did not sleep. However they pretended to. At Least until Ralsei had fallen asleep and hopefully Toriel had as well.

Frisk as quietly as they could, climbed out of bed and made for the bedroom door. Opening it slowly so as not to make too much noise. Closing it behind them and tiptoeing towards the basement stairs. Frisk cringed as the stairs creaked slightly as they stepped down. Thankfully the noise wasn't loud enough to stir anyone. At Least they had hoped so. Finally reaching the bottom they find themselves in a long purple stone hall. Frisk would proceed down this hall until they reached a left turn. Following this turn they would find themselves in a small open room facing a giant purple door. This had to be the exit to the ruins. Frisk places their hand upon the door, however they are stopped by the sound of steps behind them.

Frisk turns around expecting to find themselves face to face with Toriel. But instead Ralsei stood before them. "I-I knew it... I knew you were going to leave." says Ralsei with obvious sorrow in his voice. Frisk immediately tenses up, they did not plan for this. "Now, Ralsei, I can explain-" Frisk would begin trying to excuse themselves however Ralsei would interrupt this by saying "I want to come with you." Frisk was surprised by this statement, unsure of how to react. "Y-you want to come with me?!" Frisk asks. "I'll admit. It was a hard decision to make. But, I just couldn't let another one leave alone. I don't want to lose another friend. So, if you're going...I'm coming with you! I'm tired of just sitting there and watching them leave..." Ralsei states.

"Ralsei, are you sure about this? I don't doubt mom wasn't wrong.

It's probably dangerous out there. We could get into really big trouble." Frisk says. "All the more reason I should come with you. So you don't have to face the danger alone. I-I want to be a good brother Frisk. And that means not abandoning you when you need me most!" Ralsei states. Frisk could tell there was a lot of personal conviction in that last statement. Nothing they could say would deter Ralsei at this point. Perhaps though he was right. Maybe with Ralsei's help finding the lost children would be easier.

Frisk and Ralsei would embrace once again before proceeding ahead in their beginning adventure. Passing the large door they would find themselves in a very long hall, longer than any they had seen before. Frisk and Ralsei press forward down this long narrow hall. Eventually however they would proceed through a passage and find themselves in a large room with a small patch of grass in the center. And in this patch of grass, a familiar flower stood. Ralsei would almost immediately hide behind Frisk in fear at this sight. "Well, howdy! Look who it is! The poor wittle fallen child and their new goat brother! And they're gonna go save the other kids! Puh-lease! That crybaby behind you will be nothing more than dead weight! I would've ditched him already. He'll do nothing but waste your time!" Flowey states with sadistic glee. It's obvious he takes pleasure in insulting Ralsei.

"H-hey! How do you know about that?" Ralsei asks in concern. "How do I know?!" Flowey asks in a tone mocking Ralsei's voice "I'm ALWAYS watching you idiot! I heard the whole thing! I know EXACTLY what you're doing. Speaking of, I know something you don't. You want to know what happened to the other 6 kids right? Guess what? I know." Flowey states menacingly. "Y-you do? Where are they?" Ralsei hesitantly asks. "Why would I tell YOU that? Besides, it'll be much more fun to see you run around in circles trying to find the truth for yourselves!" Flowey declares. "Hey, you leave him alone!" Frisk demands in a commanding tone trying to stand up for their brother.

"It's not MY fault he's so easy to pick on. He's such a wimp! He'll do nothing but CRY! He won't be of any use to you. But hey, if you both want to die...Why should I stop you? It's not my problem!" Flowey says with a laugh. "I'll show you! Ralsei is tougher than you think he is. Right Ralsei?" Frisk asks turning to face Ralsei. Ralsei would respond to this with a hesitant approving nod. "There, see?" Frisk remarks. Flowey however would immediately burst into maniacal laughter at this. Ralsei shivers in response to this.

"You IDIOTS. You're both going to DIE! And when you dooohooo I'll be there to laugh at you! Oh how fun that'll be! Until then kids!" With that Flowey would disappear, receding into the ground. Frisk and Ralsei exchange glances before nodding at one another and proceeding forward. They both place their hands upon the giant heavy door and push. As the door slowly creaked open, light would pour in from the outside. Beyond this door Frisk and Ralsei would see...snow?

To be continued...

(Thanks to anyone who points out my errors. I’m stupid so I tend to make alot of them. I’ll try my best to fix them.)


	4. Chapter 3: The Path to Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Ralsei depart from the ruins and enter Snowdin. Along the way however they encounter some new friends.

(Author’s note: I rather enjoyed this one. Had fun writing it, and I guess at the end of the day that’s what matters right?)

Frisk and Ralsei stepped outside as the large door seemed to close behind them all by itself. It was much colder out here than it was inside. In addition to the snow that seemed to coat everything. It appeared they were in a snowy forest... As if they had stepped outside onto the surface. But that couldn't be right as they were still clearly underground. Yet it snowed... Very peculiar. Ralsei on the other hand stared in wonderment at the small white flakes that floated down from above.

"What is this?" asks Ralsei. Frisk had never actually considered it before. Ralsei had been cooped up in the ruins his whole life. He had never seen snow before! "Oh, this is snow. It gets really cold outside and instead of raining it snows!" Frisk explains. "I thought it only happened during the winter time though?" asks Ralsei. "You're not wrong, and it's not winter on the surface so...why is it snowing here?" asks Frisk. Ralsei and Frisk both glance at eachother before shrugging. It was probably best not to think about it.

Frisk and Ralsei would then stand outside the door for a few minutes in silence before Ralsei would finally speak up. "So...what now?" Ralsei asks. "I guess we see what we can find?" Frisk responds with uncertainty. "Y-yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Ralsei replies. Frisk and Ralsei would then begin following a path laid out in the snow. Frisk and Ralsei would walk in silence for several minutes. It was only then they began to notice how quiet the snowy forest actually was. The only sound was of their own breath and their feet crunching the snow.

Ralsei had never been outside the ruins before. This entire situation was foreign to him. It has never been this quiet before. No, there was something wrong with this silence. It wasn't your normal kind of silence. There was a sense of danger in the air. But from what, who, where and why, Ralsei did not know. Frisk would gaze back for a moment to see Ralsei cautiously scanning the treeline. Frisk would then stop and ask. "Something wrong bro?" Ralsei would hesitate for a moment before responding "I-I thought I saw something in the trees..."

Frisk stops to scan the snowy treeline themself. However they see nothing. Frisk was on edge now however and much more observant. "Stay close to me." Frisk requests, holding Ralsei's hand. "O-ok!" Ralsei responds shaking a little. They continue following the path. Ralsei continuously keeps looking behind and gazing at the trees around them. Ralsei knew something was following them. Seems mom wasn't wrong after all. Just mere moments after leaving the ruins against her wishes it seemed they were in danger...

"Oh if only I had listened to you mom..." Ralsei thought as Frisk and themself dashed through the snowy forest hand in hand. The forest stayed eerily silent. The only sounds being Frisk and Ralsei's heavy breath as they ran, and the sound of their feet crunching the snow. But wait, there was a new sound... A 3rd set of feet somewhere nearby. Although neither of them could pinpoint where it was coming from. And it seemed to be keeping pace with them.

This only caused Frisk and Ralsei to run even faster which caused the mysterious footsteps to speed up along with them. They were getting closer as well. Frisk and Ralsei begin to panic as they can't seem to escape. It was then Frisk and Ralsei spot what looks like some kind of giant wooden archway diagonally placed over a pit with a small wooden bridge going across it. But yet it had 2 extra support beams just hanging a little ways off the bridge over the pit... What kind of archway was this? It looks more like it was meant to be a fence of some kind, but not only were their not enough bars. They weren't even thick enough to stop anyone.

However as Frisk and Ralsei both approach the bridge, the footsteps following them abruptly stop. This causes both Frisk and Ralsei to stop just before the bridge and gaze around. Nothing in sight. Did they lose it? Did it give up the chase? What even was chasing them anyway? Frisk and Ralsei would then turn to face the bridge. "BOO!" A deep voice yells out. Ralsei cries out in fear and falls to the floor. Meanwhile Frisk jumps in fright but remains on their feet. Frisk would then get a good look at who had scared them.

It appeared to be...a skeleton? Wearing a blue hoodie, with a white shirt underneath. Black shorts and...slippers? Strangely however despite it's deep voice it was only a little bit taller than Frisk themself. Only about a head or so. They were almost eye to eye. The skeleton chuckles before saying "Heh, I bet you WOODEN have expected that huh?" Frisk although at first was a little miffed at the scare they quickly realized the joke and began to chuckle along with the skeleton.

"Hey, no hard feelings right? It was just a joke." The skeleton asks. Ralsei slowly climbs out of the snow to their feet and remarks "A joke?! That was terrifying!" Frisk nods in agreement with Ralsei. The skeleton sighs before responding "Alright fine. Maybe I did go a little too far. I was just having a little fun with ya. Anyways, I'm SANS. Sans the skeleton. You guys came from the ruins right? That's hilarious." Frisk was now confused and asks "How is that hilarious?" Sans would then immediately respond "Oh, no reason." with that there would be a moment of silence.

Sans would then look at Ralsei, observing him for a moment. "So, who are you? I introduced myself. So, it's only fair you tell me who you are, right?" Sans says in a friendly tone. Both Frisk and Ralsei were unsure of how to feel about this entire situation. This Sans character had just got done scaring the life out of them and was now speaking as casually as could be, as if it didn't even happen. Frisk would ultimately decide to answer. "I-I'm Frisk. And this is my brother Ralsei." Frisk says.

"Wait, your brother? ... He's a monster...and you both came from the ruins..." Sans would say. He would seem to ponder for a moment, placing his boney hand at his chin before continuing. "Well old lady, I gotta say I'm surprised. I mean, I knew she had kids. But I didn't know she had KIDS." Sans would emphasize the second 'kids' while also looking at Ralsei with a large grin on his face. Ralsei would simply gaze back with a look of disappointment almost immediately understanding the joke. Frisk on the other hand would chuckle along with Sans. However his statement had sparked an interest in Ralsei. "So, wait. You know my mother?" Ralsei asks. "Well, not exactly. See... I just know there's this lady that lives in the ruins. I've only ever talked to her. I've never seen her. We'd tell eachother knock knock jokes through the door. She's a real hoot. It's funny actually. Hilarious even. She wasn't that good at first, but her jokes got better and better the more we did it. Anyways, I'm getting off topic here. Why do you ask?"

Ralsei was a little surprised by this, Toriel had never mentioned anything about talking to someone outside the ruins. "Weird, my mom never told me about you." says Ralsei. "Eh, I'm not surprised. I mean, she never even told me her name." says Sans. "I never thought to ask her any personal questions. Figured she'd just give me the COLD shoulder." Sans says with a wink. "Well, I can see how you two got along..." Ralsei remarks. "I figured you'd love these kinds of jokes." Frisk says. "Well, I mean...I do. It's just that mom tells these jokes all the time. I already know all of the punchlines. They're not really that funny anymore because I already know what he's going to say." Ralsei replies. Frisk responds with a simple "Oh."

"I don't mean to interrupt but, you're a human right?" Sans asks, looking toward Frisk. Frisk would respond with a nod and a hesitant "Yeah?" "I'm actually supposed to be on the watch for humans right now." Says Sans. "But... y'know. I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus? He's a human hunting fanatic!" Ralsei would react to this claim with a bit of fear "H-human hunting fanatic?!" they question. "Now, now, don't worry. Papyrus is harmless. He just...really wants to capture a human, you know? It'd make him really happy. So, if you could just play along, that'd be great!" Sans says. "A-alright but, what is he going to do exactly?" Ralsei asks. "Like I said, he's harmless. He wouldn't hurt a fly. You might have to solve some puzzles though." Sans answers.

"Puzzles! That sounds like fun right Ralsei?" Frisk asks cheerfully. "And who knows?" Thought Frisk "Maybe it'll be nice to solve some puzzles that aren't dangerous for a change." Frisk enjoyed this thought. However this thought would be interrupted by Sans saying "Uh oh! I think that's him heading this way now. Quick, over here." Sans says as he walks across the bridge. "Yeah, just walk right through. Papyrus made the bars too wide to stop anyone. Heh." "Oh, so it WAS meant to stop us." Frisk thinks to themselves as they cross with Ralsei behind. They walk into what appears to be a clearing with a booth to the side.

"Quick, hide behind this conveniently shaped lamp." says Sans motioning to a lamp that was strangely shaped perfectly for Frisk to hide behind. Frisk at first questions this. Before deciding that questioning it would be futile. "What about me?" Ralsei asks. "Oh, don't worry. Doesn't matter. Papyrus is looking for a human after all. You're not a human are you?" Sans asks in jest. "Oh, right..." Ralsei replies feeling slightly silly for asking. With this Frisk hides behind the lamp. It was then, Ralsei took notice of another skeleton approaching. A much taller skeleton, wearing some kind of armor.

"Sup' bro?" Sans asks. "You know what's 'Sup' brother! I've been telling you for days! Yet you still have not recalibrated your puzzles!" says Papyrus agitated. "Hey bro, come on, calm down. I've gotten a ton of work done today...a skele-TON." Sans says with a rimshot. "Where did that come from?" Ralsei asks himself. "SANS WOULD YOU JUST TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?!" Papyrus asks in angry desperation. "I am taking it seriously bro. I'll have you know I take my naps very seriously. So seriously infact I let nothing disturb me." Sans replies. "AAAAAAAAGH! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SANS! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I MUST CAPTURE A HUMAN, I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! AND THEN I PAPYRUS WILL FINALLY JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! I'll get respect! Recognition! People will ask to be my friend!" Papyrus proclaims. "Maybe this lamp will help you." Sans says. "What are you doing?!" Ralsei asks in startled confusion. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING SANS! YOU LAZYBONES!" Papyrus sighs "Why is it so hard to get some recognition around here?" asks Papyrus.

"Geez bro, maybe you should take a break, you sound like your working yourself down to the...BONE!" Says Sans with yet another rimshot. "Seriously who is doing that?!" Ralsei asks. "Ugh! Well you know what? Maybe you should put a little more BACKBONE into your duties! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEH." Papyrus says. "Heh, good one bro." Sans responds. "Why thank you! Now if you'll excuse me I must attend to my puzzles!" Papyrus claims before walking off. A moment of silence passes.

"Alright, you can come out now." Sans says. Frisk emerges from behind the lamp. "You two better get moving, before he comes back. Otherwise... you'll have to listen to more of my hilarious jokes!" says Sans with a wink. Frisk and Ralsei simply stare at eachother in silence, Frisk's expression blank while Ralsei's one of worry. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ralsei asks. "Well, I mean. Sans said he was harmless right? There shouldn't be anything to be afraid of." Frisk says to reassure Ralsei. "A-Alright. I trust you." Ralsei says. Ralsei would then embrace Frisk.

Frisk is a little surprised by this, but they quickly hug back. "D-Did I do it right?" Ralsei asks timidly. "I-I've never hugged anyone before you showed up... Well, I mean, besides my mom... No offense to mom or anything but I don't think mom counts..." says Ralsei. "Y-Yeah, you did." Frisk replies trying to not snicker. "Now, let's get going. Okay?" Frisk asks. "Okay." Ralsei responds. With that, they proceed down the snowy path. Along the way Frisk encounters another one of those strange glowing lights from earlier to the side of the path. Frisk instinctively touches it.

[ (The convenience of that lamp still fills you with determination.) ]

[File saved!]

Not too far from this light was a box with a sign next to it. Frisk walks over to investigate. The sigh says "This is a box. You can put an item inside or take it out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover." Frisk is confused by this. "How does that work?" They ask out loud to themself. Ralsei however almost immediately reacts by stating. "Oh! I know what this is. I think I read about it in one of mom's books. It's a magic box. There's a whole bunch of them all around the underground. If you put something in it, you can take it out from a different box somewhere else. They all look the same though so they're not hard to find. It's like, magic storage basically." Ralsei explains. "Oh, so it's magic?" Frisk asks. "Yup. It's best not to question it." Ralsei responds. "Riiiiight." says Frisk.

Frisk and Ralsei continue down the snowy path, however they stop short when they see Papyrus and Sans conversing. "How did he get ahead of us?" Ralsei asks quietly before they both slowly creep forward trying to listen in on their conversation. "So, as I was saying about Undyne," says Papyrus however before he could finish he stops short when he hears a branch snapping. Ralsei had accidentally stepped on a branch. "Sorry!" he whispers whisper. Papyrus would then wear an expression of surprise, turning back to Sans before turning back to Frisk and Ralsei and then proceeding to rapidly repeat this process before finally turning away for a moment to speak with Sans. "Sans!! Oh my god! Is that... A human?!" asks Papyrus.

Sans would then look over to Frisk and Ralsei before stating "Actually bro, I think that's just some goat." says Sans. "Oh." Papyrus responds in disappointment. "But hey! What's that infront of the goat?" asks Sans. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaims before quickly turning to Sans. "That's a human right?" he asks. "Yes." Sans replies. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus exclaims once again. "SANS I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA BE SO POPULAR!" Papyrus cries before composing himself with a clearing of the throat. "Human! You shall not pass this area! I, The Great Papyrus, shall stop you! I will then capture you! And then I shall turn you over to Undyne! Then...then... I'm not sure what's next. But I'll figure that out later! In any case! Continue, if you dare!" Papyrus states before walking away laughing "NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Once Papyrus was out of sight Ralsei would turn to Frisk and say "Well...that was....uhhhh...something." "I know right? Isn't he great?" Sans replies to Ralsei's statement. "I'm guessing he's always like that?" Ralsei asks. "Oh, you don't know the half of it." says Sans. "Anyways, I gotta go. Seeya, oh, and don't worry kids. I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." says Sans with a wink before walking away.

Frisk and Ralsei would once again exchange glances before simply deciding to move forward. As they continue walking down the path they come across a guard post of some kind made out of cardboard. They glance at it for a moment before proceeding onwards. Just around the next corner however there was what appeared to be an actual guard post constructed from wood with...a carving of a dog on the top? And nearby there was a sign that says the following "Absolutely NO MOVING!!!" Ralsei and Frisk both look at eachother in confusion. "No moving? What's that supposed to mean?" Ralsei asks. Frisk simply shrugs in confusion. Unsure of what the sign means they proceed forward. However as they pass infront of the guard post they stop dead in their tracks when a voice calls out "Hey! What was that?!" They both glance over to the booth to see a humanoid dog with a treat in it's mouth wearing a pink shirt.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" It asks. "I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving... For example, a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" as it says this it raises up a sword made of blue magic. Frisk and Ralsei both freeze in fear as the dog then proceeds to swing the sword. Frisk instinctively raises up their arms to defend themself. Expecting a much greater wound it seemed the sword had only scratched them. However it still hurt, causing Frisk to exclaim in pain. "Ah ha! Something is there!" the dog exclaims. "Please don't hurt my friend sir, we were just passing through! We don't want any trouble!" Ralsei pleads. "Who's there? Who is talking? Move so I can see ya!" the dog requests.

Ralsei idly wobbles in place moving their whole body whilst remaining in place. "O-oh! OH! You're a monster! S-sorry kid! I didn't mean... Please don't tell Undyne about this..." the dog requests in disappointment. With that, the dog retreats back within the guard post. Frisk simply looks up in confusion. Ralsei however takes Frisk's hand and brings them forward down the path out of the guard post's line of sight. "Did he hurt you Frisk?" Ralsei asks in a worried tone. Frisk shows Ralsei the scratch they had recieved on the back of their hand. "Don't worry! I can fix it." Ralsei saws before placing their paw on Frisk's scratch. Ralsei's hand glows. "It'll take a moment, just hold on." a few moments pass before Ralsei lifts their paw to reveal the scratch was completely gone, as if it had never been there to begin with.

"Woah! You can do that?" Frisk asks. "Y-yeah... Mom taught me healing magic, just incase I ever hurt myself." Ralsei explains. "Aww, Ralsei, you're the best brother ever!" Frisk declares before giving Ralsei a hug. "T-thanks Frisk." Ralsei responds. "What did he hit me with?" asks Frisk. "Oh! That was a blue attack. They can only hurt you if you're moving. If you didn't try to block it you actually would've been alright." says Ralsei. "Oh...Well. I feel a little dumb now." says Frisk. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know after all." Ralsei says reassuringly. With that they continue on. Before long however they find themselves at a clearing, a large square of snow appears to have been shoveled from this clearing. On the other side stands Sans and Papyrus who seem to once again be conversing. They stop their conversation however as they take notice of Frisk and Ralsei approaching. "Oh ho! The human arrives! And they've brought their companion! I hope you're ready human, I think you'll find this puzzle quite...SHOCKING! Nyeh heh!" chuckles Papyrus. Papyrus then pulls out what appears to be a small blue orb. "Now then, human!"

"Prepare yourself for...the invisible electricity maze! Any time you touch the walls of this maze, this orb will administer a hearty zap! Sound like fun? Because the amount of fun you will probably have is actually rather small I think... Anywho, you can go ahead now!" says Papyrus. Frisk and Ralsei exchange glances. "W-who goes first?" Ralsei asks. "W-what? First? There's no first! This puzzle is only for the human! You can just walk around it." Papyrus says. Frisk and Ralsei stare at eachother. With a confused shrug Ralsei simply walks around the clearing to the other side. "D-don't worry! I'm sure you'll do fine!" Ralsei assures. Frisk stands idly unsure of what to do. But eventually they work up the courage to proceed forward.

With a single step Papyrus is electrocuted by the orb. "OW! What the?! SANS WHAT DID YOU DO?!" asks Papyrus. "Uhhh bro. I think the human has to hold the orb." Sans answers. "Oh, okay!" Papyrus responds before then walking through the maze leaving footprints in the snow revealing the path. "Hold this please!" Papyrus asks, handing Frisk the orb before returning to Sans and Ralsei on the other side. "W-why didn't he just...walk...around...like I did..." Ralsei says to themself before smacking themself in the face. "Just let it go Ralsei." he tells himself.

"Okay! Try now!" Papyrus requests. Frisk ponders for a moment... They then walk into the maze. However they stop half way through and state "Oh no! Wherever do I go? I am lost! In the invisible electricity maze!" "Nyeh heh heh! Tremble human! Before the greatness of the great Papyrus' puzzles!" Papyrus declares. Frisk continues to pretend to be lost walking in circles for a few minutes before finally following Papyrus' foot prints to the maze's exit. "Whew man, I thought I'd never get out." Frisk says, handing the orb back over to Papyrus. "Impressive, human! You solved my puzzle. But do not get comfortable just yet! For you see the next puzzle was designed by my brother Sans! You will surely be confounded! I know I am!" Papyrus declares before sliding off. No literally he slides away. Backwards no less.

"Heh, thanks kid. My brother seems like he's having fun." Sans says. "I told ya, there was nothing to worry about. Papyrus isn't dangerous to anybody. (Even though he tries to be.)" "I see that. This is actually pretty fun!" Frisk responds. "Well, glad you're having fun too kid. Anyway, I'll see you two up ahead." says Sans before walking off. Frisk and Ralsei continue down the path shortly afterwards. As they walk they are stopped by a growling sound. "What was that?" asks Ralsei. Frisk and Ralsei both stopping in their tracks for a moment to see what the sound was. After a minute or so of waiting it happens again. This time however they were able to locate the source of the noise. "Oh...it was my stomach." says Ralsei. "Oh that's right...we left before breakfast... Now that you mention it I'm hungry too." says Frisk. It was then that they take notice of what appears to be a nearby stand with a blue rabbit in a yellow shirt and red pants running it.

The rabbit was leaning on the stand with their eyes closed. Frisk and Ralsei glance at eachother. "Well, it's better than nothing." says Frisk. "You got any money?" Frisk asks. "Uhh yeah, I've got some leftover G from my mom on me. It should be enough to buy some for both of us." Ralsei responds. They approach the stand. The rabbit appears to be muttering to himself. "I don't understand why these aren't selling... It's the perfect weather for something cold..." "Um, excuse me sir." says Ralsei trying to get his attention. "OH!!! A CUSTOMER!!!" the rabbit exclaims. "Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart. Only 15G!" "2 cones please." says Ralsei handing over the G. "Here you go! Have a super duper day!" the rabbit says as he hands them both their cones.

"Thank you!" Ralsei and Frisk say in unison before leaving. Before continuing onward to the next puzzle Frisk and Ralsei stop for a moment to eat their Nice Cream. While they had a moment Frisk decided to turn to Ralsei and ask something. "So, Ralsei?" "Yeah Frisk?" Ralsei responds. "So, you said that mom never let you leave the house without her watching right?" asks Frisk. "Yeah?" Ralsei confirms. "So, what did you do for fun?" asks Frisk. "Oh. Well...I usually just played with my toys. Either that, or I'd read books. That was one of my favorite things to do actually. Sitting on mom's lap infront of the fire place and reading a book together..." Ralsei's head becomes downcast for a moment after saying this. "I hope she's alright." he adds in a solem tone.

Frisk could tell Ralsei was already homesick. Frisk wanted to cheer Ralsei up, but wasn't sure how. "Don't worry Ralsei. I'm sure she's fine..." Frisk says attempting to reassure Ralsei. "Well...I guess it's a little too late now. We've come this far...We might as well keep looking. ... I hope we find them." says Ralsei. "Don't worry, we will." Frisk says. Frisk internally grimaced at saying this. Because somehow, deep down...they knew they were lying... Frisk was conflicted once again. They hated lying to Ralsei but, at the same time they held out hope that atleast one of them would turn out to be alive. I mean...surely one had to have survived right? After finishing their nice cream Frisk would attempt to dispel these feelings and proceed down the path.

Frisk however would begin shivering. Seems that nice cream made them realize how cold they were. Ralsei notices this and asks "Are you cold?" Frisk nods yes in response. "I can help!" saying that, Ralsei would then remove their red scarf and hand it to Frisk. "You're giving me your scarf?" Frisk asks hesitantly. "Well, I mean. We are family now right? We have to look out for eachother." Ralsei says with a smile. Frisk gently takes the scarf and wraps it around their neck. "But won't you be cold?" Frisk asks. "Well, I mean. I have my fur. The only fur you seem to have is on your head." Ralsei responds. Frisk chuckles as this. "I guess you're right." they say. "Thanks, Ralsei." saying this Frisk would then hug Ralsei once again. "You're welcome." Ralsei replies.

With that they proceed forward. They eventually run into Sans and Papyrus again in another clearing. Papyrus greets them upon seeing them "Human! I hope you're ready for.... SANS?!" Papyrus asks. "What?" Sans replies. "Where's the puzzle?!" asks Papyrus. "Right there on the ground." says Sans. "Trust me, there's no way they can get past this one." Sans says. And there it was, on the ground was a piece of paper with a pencil laying next to it. Frisk and Ralsei both proceed over to it, Frisk picks it up with Ralsei peeking over their shoulder. "Is.....is this a children's word puzzle?!" Ralsei asks. "Looks like it." Frisk chuckles. "You wanna do it?" asks Frisk. "I'll have it done in seconds. Watch!" says Ralsei grabbing the paper and pencil from Frisk's hands. And he was right, within a minute the puzzle was done.

"Augh! Sans! That barely even stopped them!" Papyrus exclaims. "I mean, I don't know. It stopped them for about a minute, that's something right?" Sans asks obviously not taking this seriously in the slightest. "Fine then! But my next puzzle shall be your downfall... NYEHEHEHEH!" and with that Papyrus shoves off yet again, leaving Frisk, Ralsei and Sans behind. "There he goes again. Heh. Again kid, I can't thank you enough for playing along." says Sans. "I'll admit, I was a bit worried at first but... you're right. Papyrus isn't a danger to anybody. (Except maybe himself.)" Ralsei says. "Yeah, Papyrus finds difficulty in strange places. Like, just the other day he was stumped trying to solve the horoscope." says Sans. Ralsei slaps themself in the face upon hearing this. "Anyway, gotta go. Seeya up ahead kiddos." Sans says with a wink before leaving.

Despite being right behind him as Frisk and Ralsei proceed ahead Sans is gone. "How does he do that?" Ralsei asks themself. Walking a bit further Frisk and Ralsei come upon 2 tables. One with a plate of spaghetti on it and the other a microwave. And on the ground next to them both was a note. Across from the tables however was another one of those yellow lights. Frisk decides to pick up the note first to read it's contents. It said the following "Human! Please enjoy this spaghetti! (Little do you know this spaghetti is a trap! Designed to entice you!!! You'll be so busy eating it that you won't realize that you aren't progressing! thoroughly japed again by The Great Papyrus!) NYEH HEH HEH! - Papyrus "

"Doesn't he realize that doesn't work if he tells us that?!" Ralsei asks in frustration. Frisk simply chuckles and says "Rals, I think you're taking this too seriously." "Maybe..." Ralsei sighs. "Besides, we couldn't even eat the spaghetti if we wanted to! It's so cold out here the plate is frozen to the table!" Ralsei says. "Ah well, nothing we can do about it. Let's keep going." Frisk says. However before leaving Frisk touches the yellow light.

(Knowing that one day you might find a way to heat up the spaghetti...)

(It fills you with determination!)

(File saved!)

Frisk still wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Not much could be done about it though. After that, Frisk and Ralsei proceed forward yet again down the snowy path. Proceeding into the next area Frisk and Ralsei happen upon a sign that says "Warning: Dog marriage." Frisk and Ralsei simply stare at eachother. "What's that supposed to mean?" Frisk asks. "I don't know." replies Ralsei. "Well, I guess we'll find out." Frisk says stepping forward. However as they proceed forward they are suddenly stopped by a humanoid white dog wearing armor! Ralsei knew this had to be a royal guard because of the armor. "Uh oh!" Ralsei exclaims. "Frisk?! We should probably run!" says Ralsei. However Frisk didn't seem to be listening, they were simply staring at the dog as the dog stared back at them.

"Frisk?!" Ralsei mutters in confusion. Frisk reaches out their hand. The dog barks excitedly. "Frisk? What are you doing?" asks Ralsei. Frisk however does not respond. They reach their hand over to the dog's head and begin...petting it. The dog seems to enjoy this and begins barking happily. After petting it for a bit Frisk stops and the dog steps aside as if to allow them to pass. Ralsei is completely confused. "I...it's that easy? I-I don't...wha-" Ralsei is unsure of how to respond and is still processing what just happened. Frisk proceeds ahead but realized Ralsei isn't following. They walk back, they take Ralsei by the paw and then continue.

A little farther ahead across a few small bridges suddenly Frisk and Ralsei stop dead when they notice two humanoid dogs wearing black hoods wielding giant axes heading toward them. "Oh no!" Ralsei cries. The dogs approach, however they end up walking a short distance past Frisk and Ralsei before stopping. "Can...can they not see us?" Ralsei asks. The two dogs then begin sniffing around frantically. "What's that smell?" one of them asks, seemingly male judging from their voice. "Where's that smell?!" The other asks, seemingly female by it's voice. "If you're a smell..." the male says. "Identify yoursmellf!" the female says. "Frisk...I don't think they can see us... let's get out of here." Ralsei whispers quietly. "I think you're right. Let's go for it!" Frisk replies.

With that, Frisk and Ralsei slowly creep away from the area, always looking back to make sure the dogs aren't following them. It seemed the dogs had kept going further down. Perhaps they had smelt Frisk's path and were retracing it to find them. Good thing, atleast they wouldn't be coming back for awhile. Frisk and Ralsei continue forward, nothing too eventful happens. That is until they encounter Papyrus once again, by himself. "What?! How did you get past my trap?! More importantly, is there any left for me!?" Papyrus asks. "Oh, there is alright." Ralsei answers. "Oh goodie!" Papyrus responds. "But this is no time to be thinking about food! You see, I have a problem human. Perhaps you can help me! Follow!" Papyrus requests heading up ahead. Frisk and Ralsei follow behind to come across a puzzle in the snow, something with lots of snow and switches.

"You see human... You were taking so long to arrive, I decided to improve this puzzle by re-arranging it to look like my face! But then the snow froze over and now the solution is different! And as usual my lazy bones brother is nowhere to be seen! Basically, what I'm saying is, fear not human! I, The Great Papyrus will solve this conundrum so we may both proceed! In the meantime feel free to try the puzzle yourself! I'll try not to give away the answer!" says Papyrus. "WHAT?!" Ralsei exclaims in frustration and confusion. "I don't...you!....Nevermind." Ralsei grabs his forehead. "Well, I guess we have to. Come on Frisk. Let's get this over with." Ralsei says. With that Frisk and Ralsei attempt the puzzle. After several failed attempts they finally managed to complete it.

"Wowie! You did it all yourselves! And you didn't even need my help! Incredible! I'm impressed! Nyeh heh heh!" says Papyrus. Before they can even respond Papyrus proceeds up ahead. "Don't worry about it Ralsei. It's just fun. Relax!" Frisk says placing their hand on Ralsei's shoulder. Ralsei sighs "Okay, you're right. It's just..." Frisk however would cut off Ralsei by saying "Yeah, I know. Just don't take it seriously okay?" "Okay..." Ralsei replies. With that Frisk and Ralsei proceed forward. They come to a small bridge and on the other side is Sans and Papyrus, on the ground were strange tiles and next to Papyrus was some kind of console. "Oh ho! Welcome human! I know you will never solve this puzzle! It was created by the great Dr.Alphys!" Papyrus claims.

"Doctor who?" Frisk asks. "It's not important now, what IS important is that you shall never solve this puzzle! Allow me to explain, you see when I turn this device on! The tiles will light up! Each tile will have a special color and when you step on it something will happen! For instance-" Papyrus would then go into intricate detail about every single tile and it's effects for what seems like forever. Frisk tries to pay attention but eventually finds themself falling alseep. "And so, that means- HUMAN! ARE YOU SLEEPING?!" Papyrus exclaims. This immediately wakes Frisk up "W-wha?! No! I'm up!" they claim. "Well good! For a second there I had thought you had missed my instructions! Anywho! Time to begin!" with that Papyrus activates the device, the tiles all light up in different colors. However they begin to flash quicker and quicker changing colors until finally the tiles spark and turn off.

"W-what the?!" Papyrus asks, they then begin pressing multiple buttons on the device with no effect. Papyrus would then turn to Sans "SANS?! WHAT HAPPENED?!" he asks. "You probably forgot to replace the batteries bro." Sans explains. "Darn it! I knew I should have gotten extra batteries. Alright human! Seems you win by default. But I'll get you next time..." With that Papyrus shoves off yet again. Frisk and Ralsei continue down the snowy paths once again for awhile. Not much of consequence happens, up until they reach a large bridge. Before this bridge were several mounds of snow. As they walk however one of the mounds begins to move. "Ralsei watch out!" Frisk says before moving Ralsei behind them as something rises up out of the snow infront of them.

It appeared to be a large white dog wearing armor, much larger than the other 3. This dog wielded a spear. The dog barks. It raises it's spear. Frisk looks to the bridge behind it. They had an idea. "Ralsei! Come on!" Frisk grabs Ralsei by the paw and runs past the giant dog. The dog turns and chases after them. However as they step onto the bridge the dog stops in it's tracks and simply stares as they move ahead. It then would begin whining, not daring to follow. It seems it knew that the bridge wouldn't hold it's weight. Frisk felt bad for it, but atleast it wasn't attacking them anymore. "Well...that was...surprisingly easy." Ralsei remarks. "I know right?" with that Frisk and Ralsei proceed across the long wooden bridge.

After awhile of walking the end was finally in sight. On the other side however stood Sans and Papyrus once again. As they approach however they are surrounded, somehow by...cannons...spears...flames....and....a dog on a string? "Prepare yourself human! For this puzzle you shall not complete!" Papyrus claims. "Uh oh...this looks dangerous..." Ralsei says. "Indeed it is! Once I activate it, cannons will fire! Spears will chuck! Flames will spew! Only a small chance of victory shall remain! You'd best prepare yourself human! Because I'm going to activate it!.....Right....now....." Papyrus pauses. "Well, what's the holdup?" asks Sans. "What? Holdup? There is no holdup! I'm activating it now!" Papyrus claims. However a few more moments pass with nothing happening. "Uhhh, that doesn't seem very activated bro." says Sans.

"Well...This challenge! It seems... a little too easy to defeat the human with, yeah that's it! We can't use this one! My puzzles are fair! This just seems cheap! I am a skeleton with standards! If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it myself! Beware human! For next time we meet, you shall face The Great Papyrus one on one! Tomorrow at noon, it's very late and The Great Papyrus needs his beauty sleep! NYEH HEH HEH!" with that Papyrus leaves. Now that they mentioned it. Frisk was quite tired, how long had it been since they left the ruins? Either way some sleep would do them some good. Sans almost in response to this says "Hey kid, you look kinda sleepy. If you want, you can go stay a night at the Snowedinn. Heh, get it?" says Sans with a wink.

"With what money? I used the G I had on me to get Nice Cream earlier..." Ralsei says regretfully. "Hey, don't sweat it kid. Here! I've got some G for ya. Consider it a reward for playin' along with my bro. Should be enough to stay a night at the inn and maybe even buy yourselves somethin' nice! Heh, not like I'm gonna do anything worthwhile with it. Well, besides buy more whoopie cushions." says Sans with a light chuckle. "Anyway, seeya around kid. Good luck to ya." with that Sans departs. Frisk and Ralsei proceed ahead a little further to find a sign that says "Welcome to Snowdin" "This must be the place." Frisk comments. Not too far from the sign was a building with two halves. One was a shop. The other was an inn. Inbetween these two halves was another yellow light. Frisk touches it.

(The sight of such a friendly town fills you with determination!)

(File saved!)

Frisk and Ralsei both look at eachother for awhile. Eventually they decide to visit the shop before heading to the inn. Maybe they could get something to eat there before heading over. Stepping in to the shop, it seemed rather cozy. The shop seemed to glow in a way as they looked around. Standing at the counter was a purple rabbit wearing a hat. As soon as the shopkeep takes notice of the two she greets them "Welcome, travelers. How can I help you?" Frisk and Ralsei would then browse her wares. That is, until Frisk happens upon something... a bandana, as well as a glove that they've seen before. A bandanna with abs drawn on it. They had also seen gloves like these in a store on the surface. Granted not quite as worn, but still. The bandanna was a novelty item. Frisk knew these items had to have belonged to one of the human children.

They immediately bring them to the counter. "Where did you get these?" Frisk asks. "Oh, those? I found them laying out in the snow a long time ago. Nobody's ever bought them. I think maybe they used to belong to someone. At first when I found them, I held on to them. I was gonna give them back to their owner if I found em but...I never did." the shopkeeper answers. After saying this however the shopkeeper leans in close to Frisk and in a hushed voice says "Between you and me, I heard they once belonged to a human! I'm not too sure myself but it would explain why they never came back for em'." with that the shopkeeper straightens back up. "So, do you want them? Honestly, I could just give em to you for free. Nobody's gonna buy them anyway." the shopkeeper says.

Frisk nods in agreement. "Is there anything else you'd like?" The shopkeeper asks. "Two cinnamon buns!" Ralsei says. With that the shopkeeper rings them up. "Have a nice day!" she says as they leave the store. Frisk yawns as they stand outside. Ralsei yawns as well. "So, I guess we're going to the inn then?" Ralsei asks. "Yup." Frisk simply replies. With that they step inside the inn. At the desk was another rabbit that looked somewhat similar to the shopkeeper...sisters perhaps? Nevertheless Frisk and Ralsei approached the counter. The receptionist greeted them. "Welcome to Snowed Inn! Snowdin's premiere hotel! (Also consequently Snowdin's ONLY hotel.) One night is 80G." Frisk exchanges the G and recieves a room key. "Make sure to bundle up! Enjoy your stay." the receptionist says cheerfully.

With that Frisk and Ralsei proceed upstairs. They search around for a bit but eventually they find the room matching their door key and head inside. The room was rather small, but had 2 beds. Which was all that really mattered. Frisk and Ralsei both climb into their beds and sit for awhile, unwinding from all the adventure thus far. They both get cozy in their beds. Ralsei takes off his hat and glasses. Placing them on a small endtable near his bed. This was actually the first time Frisk had seen Ralsei's face completely unobscured by darkness or by his hat. His eyes were the same color as Toriel's. His coat was white, overall Ralsei seemed to resemble his mother quite a bit. Albeit a little more masculine. His horns however unlike Toriel's were pink, and seemed to point outward rather than inward. And of course he had the two little fangs at their muzzle just like Toriel.

He really did look alot like his mother. Frisk wondered though...who was the father? Perhaps they'd find out later. But for now, it wasn't that important. What was important was finding the other children. Frisk still held out hope they were out there somewhere, waiting to be rescued. Their hope is what kept them going forward. Frisk however was curious now, so they decided to ask Ralsei some questions yet again. "So, Ralsei." says Frisk. "Yeah, Frisk?" Ralsei responds. "Tell me about mom. Did she ever tell you who dad was at all?" Frisk asks. "...Not really. From what I could tell she doesn't like to talk about it. Any time I tried to ask her she'd always just change the subject or dodge the question. I just gave up..." Ralsei explains. "Why do you ask?" Ralsei questions. "Oh, no reason. I was just curious." Frisk replies. "Y'know, Frisk...I've been meaning to ask YOU. You...said you used to have a family of your own on the surface right? What were they like?" Ralsei asks.

Frisk pauses for awhile, deciding whether to answer or not. However, they elect to tell Ralsei. Frisk wanted to be honest with Ralsei. "They were great... They loved me so much... I still miss them sometimes..." Frisk answers. "....I hope they're happy...wherever they are." says Ralsei. "Me too, Ralsei... Me too..." Frisk replies. "Anyway, I'm tired. We can talk more in the morning. Okay?" says Frisk. "Okay." Ralsei replies. Frisk yawns and reaches over to turn out the light. "Good night, Ralsei." Frisk says. "Good night, Frisk." says Ralsei. With that Frisk turns out the light and they both drift off to sleep in their beds.

However, Ralsei would be awakened in the middle of the night by sounds of commotion. Ralsei sits up in their bed, scanning the dark room. Before noticing Frisk sitting directly up in their bed staring at them. Ralsei was confused by this at first. "You okay, Frisk?" Ralsei asks. However, they would give no response. "Do you need something?" Ralsei asks. Again, no response. Frisk simply continued to stare at them with a blank expression. "Frisk...you're scaring me. Are you alright?" Ralsei asks once again. No response. They simply stared back at eachother in the dark for what seemed like an eternity although was likely only a few minutes.

Frisk's expression would slowly begin to change, from blank and emotionless to a malicious grin. A creepy grin unlike anything Ralsei had ever seen before. Ralsei begins shivering. That smile... It was so eerily familiar... "F-Frisk?!" Ralsei cries in fear. Frisk would then slowly climb off of their bed and approach Ralsei. "Frisk!? Please! Answer me!" Ralsei pleads as Frisk continues advancing until they were practically face to face with eachother. Silence was all that followed as Frisk and Ralsei locked eyes for a long period of time. Eventually however the silence would be broken by Frisk going "Boo!" Ralsei would jump back in fear. "Aw! Come on Frisk! That's not funny!" he says.

Frisk would chuckle quietly...There was something wrong with their laugh though. "Really? I thought it was pretty funny..." they say. Something was wrong with their voice too...Frisk didn't sound like that. "Y-you're not, Frisk!" Ralsei cries. "What do you mean? It's me Ralsei, your best buddy, Frisk!" Frisk says in a seemingly mocking manner. "N-no you're not! Frisk w-wouldn't scare me like that.... W-who are you?!" Ralsei asks obviously afraid. With that "Frisk?" would sigh. "Alright...fine, you caught me. I'm not, Frisk." they say. "Then...who are you? What did you do with Frisk?!" Ralsei asks. "Frisk is asleep...So I'm here instead!" they answer. "And who are YOU?" Ralsei asks once again. "My name?...My name....Hmmmm....You know. It's the darndest thing. I can't remember!" they say in a smug tone. Ralsei could tell simply by their tone they were joking.

"I don't see what you're so afraid of. I'm not going to hurt you. As a matter of fact, I'm here to do quite the opposite. Consider me your guardian angel. Although, I think helper demon would be more appropriate." they say with a dark chuckle. Ralsei wasn't sure what to do at this point, they were terrified. Ralsei's cowering seemed to displease it, as it says "Look, I already told you. You don't have to fear me. I was just having some fun with ya!" with that they would then wrap their arms around Ralsei to embrace them. "Aww. See? I'm not so bad. After all, I wouldn't hurt my little brother now would I?" they say. "W-what?! L-little b-brother?!... Then....A-are you....Are you Asriel?" Ralsei asks, still petrified. "Close...but no. The other one." they respond. Ralsei trembled in fear as they then muttered "C-Chara?!"

This seemed to please them as their grin only widened. "Bingo! We've got ourselves a winner!" Chara responds. "B-but...What are you doing inside of Frisk?! I thought you were....you were....were-" Ralsei would say but their statement would be finished by Chara "Dead?!" they say. "Yes, I thought so too. Truth be told. I'm not even sure what I'm doing here, or how I got here. One moment, I was dead. Nothing. Next thing I know, I'm stuck to this kid. Not gonna lie though. It sure beats the hell out of being dead!" Chara says with a laugh. "B-but...You can't just take Frisk's body like that! It's not yours!" Ralsei says. "Oh? And what? What are you going to do about it?" Chara asks in confidence. "I'll! I'll.....I." Ralsei mutters but would once again be interrupted by Chara "I'll what?!" they ask in a mocking tone.

A moment of silence passes. "Exactly, you'll do nothing. Because what you're going to do doesn't matter. Because there's nothing you can do. I will protect you Ralsei...whether you like it or not." Chara says. "Pr-protect me?!" Ralsei says questioningly. "I told you, I wasn't here to hurt you. We're family after all, right?" Chara asks. "N-n-n-n-no!" Ralsei chokes out. "I-I don't like you. You're scary!" Ralsei adds. "Aww, don't worry. I'm not so bad...once you get to know me." says Chara. "I-I don't want to know you! I want Frisk back!" Ralsei cries. "Alright fine, I'll give you back your little friend for now. But, this isn't over. We'll meet again." Chara chuckles. With that Frisk would suddenly snap out of whatever trance they were in, gazing around the room in confusion. "R-Ralsei? What am I doing out of bed? Was I sleep walking? Sorry if I woke you up..." says Frisk. "I...I..." Ralsei chokes out. Not sure whether they should or even how to tell their adoptive sibling about what just happened. "Y-yeah...You were just sleep walking. It's okay. I'll go back to sleep now..." says Ralsei.

Frisk could tell by how uneasy Ralsei was something had happened that they weren't telling them. At the same time though, Frisk didn't want to push it further. Ralsei was sensitive after all and they didn't want to force them. Perhaps in the morning they would be more willing to talk. For now though, Frisk decided to return to bed and go back to sleep...

[To be continued.]

Special Thanks - To a friend of mine who helped me with ideas for this chapter.

Also

(Thanks to anyone who points out my errors. I’m stupid so I tend to make alot of them. I’ll try my best to fix them.)


	5. Chapter 3: Interlude - A Strange Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk has a strange dream, or perhaps even a nightmare.

"Asriel? What's this?" Chara asked as Asriel presented them with a small box. "Just open it!" Asriel begs. "It's a surprise!" he says. Chara hesitantly reaches for the box, taking it from Asriel's hand and slowly opening it. Inside was a small golden locket, shaped like a heart. "What is this, Asriel?" Chara asks. "It's a gift! Since we're best buds for life and everything. I thought it'd be cool to have something that matches. I thought maybe friendship bracelets or even rings that match together but...eventually, I just decided on this. I have one too! See?" says Asriel as he pulls out a small golden locket that was hidden inside his shirt. Chara wasn't sure what to think at first. Chara glanced at the locket, then back up at Asriel a couple of times.

"D-Do you not like it?" asks Asriel, taking notice of Chara's hesitance. "Of course I do! It's just..." Chara replies, however finds themself unable to finish what they want to say immediately. Chara stares down at the locket in their hand. Gazing at the reflection as the light shines off of it's golden shell. "Just, what?" Asriel asks, impatient to hear Chara's response. "It's just...nobody has ever done something this nice for me before..." Chara says. "I-I....I don't know what to say..." Chara laments. "You mean, no one ever got you a gift before?" Asriel asks. "No..." Chara answers. "That's...That's awful!" Asriel says before starting to tear up a little. "Hey! Are you crying?" asks Chara. "What?! N-no, of course not." Asriel says trying their best to wipe away the tears.

Chara chuckles at this. "Asriel...You're such a sap. That being said... Thank you." says Chara. "I'm glad you like it. I wanted to save it for your birthday but...I just couldn't wait. So, I talked mom into letting me give it to you now." says Asriel. "Oh, really? Why is that?" asks Chara. "Well...because! I like seeing you happy...You should smile more." says Asriel. Chara lightly chuckles at this before saying "Oh trust me Azzy...I'm not someone that deserves to smile... I don't deserve you. I don't deserve mom. And I don't deserve dad." Asriel is shocked by this "How could you say that?!" Asriel cries. "Because...It's true." says Chara. Tears would then begin to drip from their face.

"Wait... Are YOU crying now?" asks Asriel. "What? N-no...of course not. I just have something in my eye." Chara responds. Chara would them embrace Asriel, tears still streaming down their face. "C-Chara, I..." Asriel would mutter before deciding to wordlessly return the hug. "I'm sorry you feel that way." says Asriel. "No, it's okay...It's not your fault. Don't worry about me, you'd be better off worying about yourself, crybaby..." says Chara. "What is this?" asks Frisk. With that, suddenly everything would go black. The human and monster children wearing green shirts would vanish along with the castle they stood in leaving Frisk alone in a dark abyss. But not for long.

"Hello, Frisk, is it?" A voice asks from behind. Frisk turns around to be face to face with the same human child they just witnessed moments ago. "Chara?" Frisk says questioningly. "Correct." Chara confirms. "Why are you here? How are you here?" asks Frisk. "I doesn't matter how I got here. What matters is that I am not your enemy. I want the same thing you do. Ralsei's safety." says Chara. "And how are you going to accomplish that?" asks Frisk. "Simple. By doing what you're too cowardly to do." Chara answers. It took Frisk a few moments to realize what they meant, but eventually they realized exactly what they were referring to. "It's not cowardice it's just... Not everyone deserves to die just because they attacked me!" Frisk responds. "So you're saying you would spare someone who attempted to murder you moments before?" asks Chara. "Well...Yeah! Assuming they had good reasons for it. Evil isn't always caused by bad people you know." Frisk retorts.

"Interesting... So you're saying, if I tried to kill you right now and then, and follow me on this one... Said I was sorry, you'd forgive me?" Chara asks. "Well. I mean, if you really meant it. Sure!" Frisk answers. Chara begins to chuckle before erupting into full blown mad laughter at this answer. "You really are an idiot! Don't you know, that's how people DIE?! It's amazing you're even still alive with a mindset like that. You're so easy to kill it HURTS!" says Chara still laughing. "Everyone deserves a second chance... I... I like to believe that even the worst people can change. As long as they atleast try to." Says Frisk. With that, silence. Chara's laughter just stops. A minute or so passes with neither Frisk nor Chara saying a word. "That's not what they thought about me..." Chara laments. "W-What?" Frisk asks, confused by this statement. Chara however is quick to brush this aside, stating "It doesn't matter now. I'm not going to watch my family die again... And you won't stand in the way of that." Chara states.

"But, I'm not! I want to keep Ralsei safe as much as you do!" Frisk replies. "No you don't!" Chara retorts almost immediately. "Because you don't have the guts to do what needs to be done!...So I'll have to be your guts." says Chara. "W-What?" asks Frisk. "It doesn't matter now. I think I've made my point. Now, begone with you!" Chara says. "W-Wait!" Frisk pleads. However Chara ignores this, and with a wave of their hand Frisk suddenly wakes up in a cold sweat in their bed. "What was that?" Frisk asks themselves. "Was that real? Or was it just a nightmare?" Frisk ponders what just happened for awhile. Eventually however Frisk elects to simply go back to sleep. But to be alert, incase something came up. Frisk hoped that this was nothing more than a simple nightmare. But something deep inside told them this was not the case...

[To be continued.]


	6. Chapter 4: Mystery of the Missing Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk and Ralsei deal with The Great Papyrus' shenanigans while searching for answers regarding the previous children.

Ralsei awoke in the hotel room bed, yawning and stretching. He glanced over to see his companion still asleep. After a moment of hesitation, he quietly climbed out of bed and looked through Frisk’s backpack.

They had taken it from their room in Toriel’s house before departing and it was what they had been using to carry whatever they’d found thus far. He quietly unzipped the bag and inspected its contents. Inside, he saw the tough glove and the manly bandana Frisk had obtained at the store.

What’s this? Ralsei inspected the items. It took a minute or two, but it slowly came back to him. He recognized these! They belonged to one of the humans that had fallen down! It seems they had lost them. Perhaps it even meant that they were nearby?

This discovery filled the boy with hope. Perhaps the lost child was somewhere near Snowdin. Yes, perhaps... The sound of Frisk stirring brought him back to reality. Ralsei quickly began to put the items back in the bag but stopped. He decided instead to ask Frisk about them.

Frisk sat up in their bed, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. “Hm? Oh, Ralsei, you’re already up?” 

“Frisk, you got these from the shop, right?” Ralsei inquired, presenting the items.

“Y-yeah. The shopkeeper said they might’ve belonged to a human,” they said.

“That might mean they’re somewhere around here! We need to find them!”

Frisk wasn’t sure how to respond. “Uhhh...” On the inside, Frisk felt that perhaps Ralsei was right... Maybe they were still around somewhere. They could only hope.

“We have until noon before that duel with Papyrus, right? We can use that time to look around,” Ralsei suggested.

“Alright, that sounds good. Let’s go have a look, I guess...” Frisk started to climb out of bed, before pausing. “Where would we even start, though?” 

“Well, for now we can just ask around to see if anyone knows anything about a human child around here.” said Ralsei.

“I guess it’s as good of an idea as any. Let’s give it a try.”

With that, Frisk and Ralsei checked out of the hotel, stepping back outside into the snow. “Where should we start first?”

“Well, maybe someone around here will know something.” The goat surveyed the area.

“I might snow somethin’,” a voice called from behind the duo. Frisk and Ralsei, puzzled, turned to see the source of the voice.

It appeared to be some kind of... dragon duck? Some kind of... blue, snow, dragon, duck thing. Despite having a beak, it also had teeth. Its head sort of resembled a snowflake. “The name is Snowdrake!” It introduced itself with a grin.

“Oh, really? Well, please, whatever you know, we’d love to hear it.” Ralsei smiled back.

Snowdrake sat silently for a moment, with a somewhat confused expression, seemingly pondering. “Sorry for giving you the cold shoulder, but I don’t actually know anything... I don’t even know what you’re looking for. I was just making a joke!” 

“Oh...” Ralsei sighed in disappointment.

“Hey buddy! Don’t get cold feet yet! What ARE you looking for anyway? I might know something about... uhhhh, whatever it is.” Snowdrake says.

“Well, we’re looking for information about a human that might’ve come through here.”

“Oh! Sorry, I wouldn’t know anything about that. Buuuut the Librarby might have what you’re looking for. That place is for nerds though.” 

“Librarby?” Ralsei raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, that’s what it’s always been called. Guess whoever built that place got cold feet when it came to grammar class. Heh.” Snowdrake chuckled a little at his own joke.

“Let’s go, Frisk!” Ralsei grabbed Frisk’s hand and headed off. They walked through the quiet snowy town, admiring the colorful Christmas decorations all over. “This place is so pretty.” Ralsei sighed. He was so focused on the decorations, he wasn’t looking in front of him. Within a few minutes, he found himself lying on his butt in the snow.

“O-Oh, sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going! Here, let me help you up.” The girl reached out her hand for Ralsei to take. She appeared to be some kind of reindeer monster in a green and red checkered dress. She wasn’t much taller than Ralsei, seemingly a child around the same age as him and Frisk. “I’m so sorry! That was completely my fault,” she apologized as she helped Ralsei up.

“No, it was mine. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” Ralsei says. “I’m so sorry- er...” Ralsei stopped short upon realizing he didn’t know this monster’s name.

However, realizing what the problem likely was, she timidly responded, “Noel.”

“R-Right! So sorry, Noel,” said Ralsei.

“What’s your name?” Noel asked.

“I’m Ralsei! And this is my sibling Frisk.” said Ralsei.

“Sibling?” Noel tilted her head to the side.

“Well... adoptive sibling. Heh.” Ralsei replies.

Noel looked over Ralsei’s shoulder at Frisk. She said nothing, but her eyes became as wide as dinner plates after a few moments. “Oh... Wait. Are they... A-Are they a human?!”

“Y-Yes?” Ralsei replies.

With that, Noel ran away screaming. Ralsei and Frisk were both dumbstruck by this sudden reaction.

The townsfolk all stopped and stared at Frisk and Ralsei for a few moments... before simultaneously shrugging and returning to their business. Seemingly just as confused as the kids were.

Frisk and Ralsei proceeded further down the snowy streets of Snowdin until they stood before a small orange brick building with a sign above the door reading “Librarby.” “This must be the place.”

“I wonder if there’s interesting stuff about monsters in here too,” Frisk wondered.

“Oh, Frisk. You’re interested in monster knowledge?”

“Well, yeah. If I’m gonna be living with a family of monsters, I should know as much as possible about you guys.”

“Ah, well. That makes sense I guess. Well, let’s see what they have.” Ralsei reached for the doorknob. 

It wasn’t nearly as expansive as someone would expect – there was only one wall lined with bookshelves across from the entrance, a service counter to the left, and a small table with a few chairs to read the books.

“Huh. This is nowhere near as big as the library in New Home,” Ralsei remarked.

“What?” Frisk asks. “Oh, Mom used to tell me about New Home. How she used to live there. Said the library there was huge and had millions of books. Not just written by monsters, but books written by humans that had fallen into the underground. Not all of them are completely legible though, sadly... Faded by time and all that. Some of them are in remarkable condition, though!” Ralsei paused, realizing he was gushing. He raised his hands to his mouth, face going red. “O-Oh. Sorry, there I go rambling again... I’m sorry, I do that a lot. I-I’m not annoying you, am I Frisk?”

“Not at all. I love to hear you talk,” Frisk replied with a warm smile.

“O-Oh... T-Thank you?” The goat muttered.

“You’re welcome. Let’s not forget what we’re here for though. Let’s see if they have any information about the person this bandana belonged to.”

“R-Right!”

They walked to the counter. Standing behind it was a blue bird about the same age as Ralsei and Frisk. He was wearing glasses, and a white button up shirt. “Uhh... Aren’t you a little young to be working here?” asks Ralsei.

“I’m a volunteer. I’m doing a little something called ‘contributing to society.’ Maybe you should try it sometime!” the bird retorted.

Ralsei instinctively stepped back, unsure how to respond. After some deliberation, he elected to brush off the bird’s condescending comment. “Oh. Well, uhhh... Do you have any books about the history of this town, or... some newspaper clippings... Really, any material about events that have happened in Snowdin recently?” 

“Yeah, sure. You can find them on the far north shelf. Just don’t damage any of the paper! I don’t want to get in trouble for someone else’s ineptitude.”

“Excuse me...?”

“I SAID, books,” the boy pointed at the shelves, his voice dripping with condescension, “cost something called ‘money’. If you scribble or drool on them, the grown-ups will lose their money, and you’ll get in trouble.”

“Uhhh, right! Thank you, we’ll be careful.”

Ralsei and Frisk began to proceed over to the shelf, however midway through the walk Frisk whispered into Ralsei’s ear. “Is it just me or is that kid kind of rude?” 

“Y-Yeah... He does seem a little mean.” whispered Ralsei.

“Well, nevermind that. Let’s get reading.”

Frisk and Ralsei begin reading through various books looking for any information regarding the missing child. Meanwhile, Frisk looked at monster history and biology books on the side. As Ralsei rummaged through some newspapers, Frisk opened up a book about monsters. Frisk read through the pages. “While monsters are mostly made of magic, human beings are mostly made of water. Humans, with their physical forms, are far stronger than us. But they will never know the joy of expressing themselves through magic. They’ll never get a bullet-pattern birthday card...” Frisk, now interested, turned a few more pages.

“Because they are made of magic, monsters’ bodies are attuned to their SOUL. If a monster doesn’t want to fight, it’s defenses will weaken. And the crueler the intentions of our enemies, the more their attacks will hurt us. Therefore, if a being with a powerful SOUL struck with the desire to kill... Um, let’s end the chapter here...” Frisk was now more curious than ever, however it seemed whoever wrote this did not want to elaborate further.

With no other choice, Frisk flipped to the next page. “Love, hope, compassion... This is what people say monster SOULS are made of. But the absolute nature of ‘SOUL’ is unknown. After all, humans have proven their SOULs don’t need these things to exist.” Unfortunately, Frisk was left with more questions than answers. What did any of this mean? At the very least, they could gleam from this that humans were stronger than monsters. And that intentions were important when dealing with them.

Meanwhile Ralsei dug through the newspapers. What’s with these things? There’s so little news and just a bunch of games and word searches... What kind of newspaper is this? Eventually, though, he found something, which made his magic run cold. A headline. “Human corpse discovered in Snowdin. Cause of death determined to be hypothermia.” Ralsei, his hand shaking, took the paper, his face pale. His legs shaking as he walked, he brought the newspaper to Frisk. He couldn’t meet the human’s eyes as he showed them.

Frisk was unsure how to react. “O-Oh... Ralsei. I...” they began to say, but Ralsei cut them off with a hug, quietly weeping. Frisk attempted to comfort his friend, patting him on the back. “It’s okay. That doesn’t mean the others are gone too...” says Frisk.

“I hope not...” Ralsei muttered through tears. “We need to help them, Frisk...”

“Come on, let’s get out of here...”

“O-Okay,” Ralsei replied, wiping tears out of his eyes. Frisk and Ralsei departed from the library.

However, a voice from deep within Frisk would speak. They’re all dead. You’re wasting your time. Frisk would pause for a moment. Pondering where this dark thought even emerged from. However, they eventually brushed it aside.

“I need to think of a way to cheer Ralsei up, and fast,” Frisk thought to themselves. They noticed, however, looking at the clock inside the library from the window, it was almost noon! The duel with Papyrus! That should cheer him up. Or, at least, help him take his mind off of it. Only, Frisk had just now realized something. Papyrus had never actually told them where to meet him.

“Uhh, Ralsei?” 

“Yes, Frisk?” 

“I just realized, it’s almost time for the duel with Papyrus... and... he never told us where we’d be dueling at.” 

“Oh, right, forgot! There’s this snowfield just a little ways past our house. That’s where he’ll be. Our house is the one with the pirate flag on it by the way,” explained Sans, appearing as if from nowhere.

“WOAH!” Ralsei leaped back from the skeleton, startled. “HOW DO YOU DO THAT?!” 

“Do what?” Sans chuckled and winked.

“The....the thing... Nevermind.” Ralsei’s shoulders slumped, defeated. And when he looked back up, Sans was gone yet again. “W-What?! How does he...?!” 

“House with the pirate flag, huh?” Frisk immediately began scanning around for the house in question.

They quickly spotted it, a large two storey house, actually right next to the Librarby, with a balcony, and a shed next to it. A small igloo sat between the two structures. The building was also coated in Christmas lights complete with a wreath hanging on the door. Frisk and Ralsei proceeded past the house, down the path.

They quickly arrived at a snowfield, where Papyrus was waiting for them. He didn’t see them yet, as he seemed to be preoccupied with getting himself ready. A small mirror sat in his hand that he was talking into. “Alright Papyrus, you can do this! You feel good, you feel great! You can do this!”

“Is he talking to himself?” asked Ralsei.

Frisk snickered quietly at this as they and their travelling partner approached Papyrus.

The skeleton noticed them and quickly tossed the mirror aside. “Ah, Human! And their talking tree companion!”

“I’m not a tree!” Ralsei retorted almost immediately, his frustration in the cold weather enough to make steam spout from his ears.

“Well, you look like a tree...” 

“Well, I’m not one!” The ‘tree’ stomped for emphasis.

“Yes... Anyway, human! Allow me to tell you about feelings! Very complex feelings. Feelings like, the joy of finding another pasta lover! (Ralsei: Yes, but not yours, it’s terrible...) The admiration for another’s puzzle solving skills! (Ralsei: But your puzzles weren’t all that difficult...) The desire to have a cool, smart person think you are cool. (Ralsei: Um, thanks I guess?) These feelings... They must be what you are feeling right now!” declares Papyrus.

The sheer obtuseness of that statement was enough to make Ralsei facefault. “I... I don’t... I can’t... Ugh, nevermind.” says Ralsei, rubbing his face as he got back up. 

“I can hardly imagine what it must be like to feel that way! After all, I am the greatest! Everyone wants to be MY friend! I don’t ever wonder what having lots of friends is like. Because I have ALL of the friends!” Papyrus puffed his chest out.

At this point, Ralsei just couldn’t bring himself to even respond anymore. He really is full of himself isn’t he?

“I pity you, human. So, worry not! I, The Great Papyrus, shall... Shall... No, no, this isn’t right. I can’t be your friend! You are a human! And I must capture you! Then I can fulfill my lifelong dream! Papyrus! The newest and greatest member of the royal guard!” Papyrus declared.

Ralsei got into a fighting stance. “Be careful, Frisk! There’s no telling what kind of attacks he’ll throw out!”

“Prepare yourself, human! For my fabled blue attack!” announced Papyrus.

“...Blue attack?!”

With that, Papyrus attacked Frisk with a flurry of blue magic bones from every direction. Frisk, however, simply stood completely still, and the bones harmlessly went right through them. “Had enough, have you?! But don’t rest easy just yet! For I have another trick up my sleeve! Behold!”

With that, Frisk turned completely blue. “W-What the?” Frisk looked down at their blue body in shock.

“You’re blue now! That’s my attack. Nyeh heh heh!”

“Are you kidding me?!” Ralsei cried in frustration.

“But wait! There’s more!” Papyrus then began to send regular white magic bones at Frisk. “How high can you jump, human?!”

Frisk jumps high into the air. Much higher than they should've been able to. Was this the power of being blue?!

More groups of bones came at Frisk, but with their moderate pace, the child could easily leap over each set.

Papyrus clearly wasn’t focusing on the battle, daydreaming over what his life would be like after this. "Undyne will be really proud of me!"

Frisk ducked under a bunch of bones from above!

"I'll have lots of admirers!"

The child leaped over a bunch of smaller bones, like a mini-athlete doing hurdles. This was really fun!

"The King will trim a hedge in the shape of my smile!"

Another set of skybound bones. Frisk decided to play limbo with them.

"And my brother- ...Eh, my brother won't change much."

Ralsei couldn’t help but scratch his head at how… easy this duel seemed to be. He intended to help Frisk with all his might, but his human friend seemed to be able to handle themselves just fine.

"But then again...someone like this is rare… I don't know if they'll let you go, after you're captured and sent away..."

Papyrus’ hesitation made his bone attacks so slow and feeble, Frisk could weave around them like an obstacle course, running up to him to pat him on the head before running back.

"Ugh! Who cares?! Give up already!" His attention flicked back to the battle and Frisk.

"No." Frisk replied, the lack of challenge filling their head with cockiness.

"Give up now! Or face my special attack!" Papyrus threatened.

"Do it." Frisk egged on, a smirk forming on their face.

“Frisk…? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ralsei seemed unsure. Papyrus didn’t look like a threat so far, but…

“Come on, what’s the worst he can do?”

"Fine then! You've forced my boney hand! Prepare yourself HUMAN!" Papyrus declared.

Then… something strange happened. Energy was starting to gather in the air, like sparks of electricity were running through it. A bright ball of light, far outshining the artificial light of Snowdin, started to form between the fighters. It was as if the world itself was vibrating… Papyrus’ grin widened, eager for his trump card to form... but whatever it was, it was quickly snatched up by a small white dog.

"H-HEY! That's my special attack! Give it back!" Papyrus demanded.

The dog ignored him, continuing to chew on the object.

"Come on doggy, please give me my special attack back!" Papyrus went from demanding to pleading, clasping his hands in front of him.

Unfortunately for him, the dog simply dragged the attack away.

"Nooooooo!" Papyrus sighed, defeated. "Alright, I… I guess no special attack. But that's alright! I'll just use a super cool-looking normal attack instead!" With that, Papyrus summoned more bones and sent them towards Frisk.

The child continued to dodge and jump around, however they couldn't help but take notice of what exactly Papyrus was flinging at them. Bones assembled to form letters spelling out "Cool dude", a bone wearing sunglasses, and… a bone on a skateboard?!

However, suddenly a huge wave of bones came toward Frisk. The human whirled around, but the pile of bones they already dodged had formed a pile barricading them in! There was nowhere to go but forward! Left with no other option, Frisk decided to put all their strength into one last jump!

They shut their eyes tight, not wanting to see the end coming… but instead of the blunt smack of bones, they instead felt a gust of wind. They had been lifted up over the bones by some kind of magic force.

At the end of the wave was a giant bone much taller than the others. Landing on the other side. Frisk was faced with one last much smaller bone… traveling at a very slow speed. Frisk raised their eyebrow in confusion. Papyrus was exhaling heavily.

"It is quite obvious you cannot defeat me!" Papyrus choked out through haggard breath.

What is he talking about?! He hasn't even hit Frisk once! Ralsei thought to himself in frustration. 

"Yeah! I can see you shaking in your boots!" boasted Papyrus.

"I'm not wearing boots," Frisk pointed out.

"Exactly!” Papyrus smirked. “You were shaking so much, they fell off!"

Somehow, Frisk’s eyes narrowed even further than they already were, changing from their usual neutral, almost deadpan expression to a super deadpan expression. "Yeah, okay."

"So, I shall SPARE you now human. Accept the mercy of The Great Papyrus!"

The skeleton’s body language had become completely relaxed, offering his hand to shake… Frisk moved towards him to accept it, but for some reason... the child remained tense, as if something told them there was still danger nearby. Kill this idiot. He’s worthless! A dark voice echoed from within their mind. Mercy is useless! In this world, it’s KILL or BE KILLED! 

***

…

...

...What?

The next thing Frisk knew, they were on the ground, sore. Their field of vision was fixated on the ceiling of the massive cavern that was the Underground. What did I…? How did I…? Body aching all over, they got up into a sitting position before looking around.

They were still in the battlefield where their duel with Papyrus happened. Immediately next to them was a panting, disheveled Ralsei. His left arm was outstretched towards Frisk, illuminated with the glow of healing magic.

On the literal other hand, his right arm had smoke emanating from it like a recently fired gun. And embedded into a tree (almost comically, if it weren’t for the situation) was… It felt like Frisk had been punched in the gut once they put two and two together. Like a video suddenly being rewound, the memories immediately came back to them.

When Frisk was about to accept the skeleton’s handshake… their hand abruptly balled into a fist and lurched forward at the skeleton’s head. Why!?

Even worse was what followed. The sudden display of aggression caused Papyrus to respond in kind… no… rather, it drew something out from within the skeleton. Something that wasn’t Papyrus. 

Like lightning, the skeleton’s arm snapped up and caught the fist in a vice grip. His face was twisted into a bestial snarl - an expression that looked alien on even monsters, let alone humans! Frisk was shoved onto the ground with unnatural force, all the wind escaping their mouth.

As if he was a predatory beast and Frisk was the prey, the skeleton leaped on them, growling and snapping like some sort of animal. Sickening snaps and cracks, a cross between dozens upon dozens of snapping twigs and a harsh crackling fire, filled the area, and the previous statement was no longer a mere metaphor!

Papyrus… was changing into something else. Claws burst through his gloves! Vicious spikes erupted along his spine and from his joints! A whip-like tail, tipped with a blade at the end, lashed out behind him, kicking up snow! And his face… Oh, his face…!

Seeing it mutate, the friendly features of the humanoid skeleton warp and change... It all made Frisk sick to their stomach…! Horns extended with a creak from the back of his head, the points glinting. To finish the beast-like look, the skeleton’s face bulged, straining, before outright distending into a maw with serrated, dagger-like teeth.

The beast’s claws pinning them down, all Frisk’s struggles amounted to was injuring themselves. Blood leaked out from a massive gouge in their chest! Drool dripping from its maw, the demon dragon pinning Frisk down opened its jaws, ready to feed.

Ralsei cried out in a blend of shock, concern, and… something Frisk couldn’t quite process. Something they had never seen from Ralsei before. This battle… no, this whole day had truly been a curveball of unexpected events.

A massive flame, almost the size of an exercise ball, smashed into the bone dragon! The power that reverberated through the air… it was far greater than the skeleton’s special attack. As if he weighed less than a feather, the beast was knocked right off Frisk and into a tree.

With that, the bridge between the past and present had been completed. A sick, twisting feeling welled up within Frisk’s chest about the thoughts that ran through their mind, as if a red-hot knot was being tied in their chest. Why… why did I think those things? Why did I attack Papyrus?

However, their train of thought was interrupted by the skeleton in question. His head had been stuck in the tree, but his body was still outside. Clawed arms grabbing the sides of the tree, and his feet (paws? talons??) being dug into the ground, Papyrus was able to extract himself. Shaking soot off him, he dusted himself down and approached the children.

Ralsei growled, summoning a fireball, causing the humanoid dragon to instantly hold his arms up in surrender, while his tail tucked in between his legs. “No, wait! Small tree, I mean no harm!” His voice was deeper, rougher… but it was unmistakably Papyrus. The skeleton’s physical form was still that of a bizarre humanoid beast, but the strange creature that seemed to take over his mind was no longer present.

“This just… happens sometimes, with myself and my brother. Our bodies and minds change in response to a perceived threat, or overwhelming emotions. It was just a sudden punch, so it wasn’t so drastic this time. I didn’t change that far, and it should be easy to revert once I calm down. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop myself before I hurt you.” 

It wasn’t only Papyrus’ frightening new visage that stopped Frisk from being able to make eye contact with him. “No, I’m sorry. I’m the one who punched first. Your offer for Mercy... I accept it, I guess."

And with that, the battle had officially concluded.

"Nyoo hoo hoo... I couldn't even stop someone as weak as you. Undyne will be so disappointed in me. I will never join the royal guard. My friend count will remain stagnant!" Papyrus whined in sorrow, abruptly crumpling to the ground as the tense atmosphere faded.

This drew sympathy for him out of Frisk. The tattered battle body and naturally vicious appearance made Papyrus look like some sort of terrifying werewolf (weredragon? Werewolf dragon hybrid?)… but with his current attitude, he looked like a giant sad puppy. Frisk had to resist the urge to pet him like they did with the other dogs as they spoke. "I'll be your friend."

"REALLY?!" Papyrus’ head shot up, eyes sparkling. Within mere seconds, he went from a sad puppy to an overjoyed puppy.

Ralsei faceplanted almost immediately upon hearing this. Are they serious? They can't be serious...

"Yeah! I'll be your friend." Frisk beamed, confirming.

Oh my god, they’re serious. Ralsei lamented to himself.

"Well. Normally, as you are a human. I would have to decline this offer. HOWEVER, I suppose I, The Great Papyrus, can make an exception for you!"

Frisk gave a thumbs up, causing the skeleton’s wagging tail to become a blur.

"Wow! A new friend! And who knew all I needed to do to make new friends was to make them solve puzzles and fight them??"

Ralsei was still face down in the snow. Unable to say anything.

The dragonoid dramatically spun around, pointing a claw in the general direction of behind him. "I hereby grant you permission to pass human! I shall also give you directions to the surface! Simply go forward, and keep going forward until you reach the barrier!" 

Even his directions are terrible...

"That's the magical barrier trapping us all here! Only beings with powerful souls can pass through it however. That's why the king wants your soul! He wants to break the barrier with soul power... Oh, yes! That's right, human. I forgot… to reach the barrier you'll have to go through the capital. And that means… the king's castle."

With this, an ominous music stinger echoed through the field. Sans was sitting at a pipe organ that he seemingly produced from nowhere.

"SANS! WOULD YOU PLEASE!?" Papyrus cried, a puff of blue-tinged smoke escaping from his nasal cavity.

Sans chuckled at the dragon’s exacerbation. "What? I thought it fit the mood."

"Ugh, what am I going to do with you…?" Papyrus sighed with frustration, attempting to bury his head in his hands, but whacking his muzzle instead. "Well, yes, anyway. You'll have to pass through the king's castle. The king of all monsters… and … well…”

Frisk tensed up in anticipation.

“He's a big fuzzy pushover! Everybody loves that guy! I'm certain if you just say 'Excuse me, Mr.Dreemurr. Can I please go home?' He'd probably say yes. Anyway! That's enough directions. I'll be at home being a cool friend! If you ever need anything at all, come talk to me! My door is ALWAYS open. No really, the lock broke off awhile ago and I haven't gotten around to repairing the darn thing so I couldn't stop you even if I wanted to! Bye bye!" Papyrus left the scene with a toothy grin and wave.

"Frisk...you're not actually going to-" Before Ralsei could finish, Frisk was already heading back to Papyrus' house.

"FRISK, SERIOUSLY?!" Steam sprouted from Ralsei’s ears once more.

"Yeah."

Ralsei sighed heavily.

"Aw come on, he's funny. Lighten up."

Ralsei sighed heavily. "…I guess you're right. But you have to admit, he is rather… odd."

"That's WHY he's funny."

"I… suppose so…"

Frisk and Ralsei now both find themselves once again standing outside Sans and Papyrus' house.

"But are you really sure about this? After what happened earlier…" Even with his face in shadow, the concern in his tone was enough to draw a clear picture of what kind of expression he had in Frisk’s mind.

"Yes. He said he needs to calm down to change back to normal. That’s why I’m coming to visit him - I changed him, so I’ll change him back."

Ralsei sighed. "If you insist…"

"Oh, I do."

With this, Frisk knocked on the door. Almost immediately, Papyrus answered, ducking down slightly so that his head fit within the doorframe. He was still in that eerie beast-like shape… but he had swapped his tattered battle body for a shiny new identical battle body, tailored around his new form.

Holes had been cut for the spikes and tail, while his battle boots were understandably (taking the combination of digitigrade paws and sharp talons into account) absent. Additionally, his gloves were now fingerless, due to the fact that no gloves would be able to fit his claws inside.

Geez, how many of those things does he have? Ralsei had to wonder.

"Hello, human! That was fast! You must be very serious about this!"

"Listen here, Paps. If we're going to do this. I'd prefer it if you called me by my name."

"And what is that, human?"

"Frisk. My name is Frisk."

“Alright then, Frisk! Come on in!” Papyrus stepped aside and motioned for Frisk to enter. As the children walked through the door and for the first time got a look at the beast up close, the human couldn’t help but notice he was remarkably large compared to the other monsters they had met.

Earlier, he was tall and slender (as most skeletons were, they supposed), but now, he had gained significant bulk. Was it… muscle…? ...No, his bones were just a lot thicker and stronger. Though it wasn’t like Frisk knew the rules behind skeleton monsters. It could very well be that counted as muscle for them. 

The inside of the skeleton brothers’ house actually looked rather nice. The carpet was purple and blue zig zags, and the walls were a simple dull brownish red color. Directly across from the front door was a kitchen, with a brown and orange tiled floor and...an abnormally tall sink.

A sweat drop slid down Ralsei’s head at the sight. How would anyone even wash their hands with that? It’s even too tall for Papyrus as he is now! However, the goat then took notice of the table in front of the kitchen, against the wall to the right. On it was… a rock sitting on a plate?

Papyrus followed his eyes, opting to explain, “Oh, that? That’s my brother’s pet rock. He always forgets to feed it. So, I have to! Just like how I usually have to do everything else for him.”

Ralsei then realized that the pet rock was covered in sprinkles.

“Rocks eat sprinkles?”

“Of course! What else would they eat?”

I guess I can’t argue with that…

To the left of the kitchen was a large flatscreen TV sitting on a fine wood stand.

“Oh! That reminds me! It’s almost time for my favorite show! Hang on!” Papyrus’ tail shot out with surprising dexterity, grabbing the remote and passing it into his right hand. He proceeded to turn the TV on.

The screen lit up to show what looked like a talk show set of some kind, with someone sitting behind a desk facing the camera. On the desk was a nameplate reading “MTT”, and sitting at it was a… male human? No, that couldn’t be. His skin was grey, almost… Metallic. A robot? He had black hair and was wearing a dark purple suit with a matching tie. The... robot(?) sat at the desk with his hands together.

“Hello, darlings. This is Mettaton. I regret to inform you that this week's new episode has been pushed back to next week, due to an incident involving a white dog eating our script. So for this week, we’ll just be replaying last week’s episode. I apologize for this inconvenience.” The TV proceeded to transition to some kind of show. Probably a drama of some kind.

“Oh! Darn it! I was really hoping to see what was going to happen! Last week ended on such a cliffhanger! She was finally going to admit her feelings to him!” Papyrus lamented to himself.

“What are you talking about?” Ralsei asked, tilting his head.

“Ah, no matter. I can wait! For now. It’s no big deal.”

“Alright, if you say so.” With that, the hangout continued.

Across from the TV stand was a green couch. And to the left of the couch was a small end table with a single red book on it. Across from the table were stairs leading up to a second floor with two doors, one covered in various “KEEP OUT” signs, and one that was bare… but had a strange light emanating from underneath…

“What the?” Frisk was so shocked, they ended up thinking aloud without realizing it..

“Oh, don’t mind that! It’s always like that. I don’t know what he does in there… And frankly, I don’t care!” The dragon skeleton twitched and clicked his claws in realization. “Speaking of! I think I left a picture in my room slightly crooked! I’ll be right back!” He walked upstairs and entered his room, closing the door behind him.

“Hey kid, wanna do something fun?” asked Sans, who had once again seemingly appeared from nowhere.

“And… what would that be?” Frisk couldn’t help but feel a slight chill at the thought of doing anything to destabilize the situation as it was now. Earlier, Papyrus said that he didn’t change that far. Was this hellish form only a partial shape…?

“Here, take this.”

Sans handed Frisk a small whoopee cushion.

“When Paps comes back out, ask him to shake your hand. Trust me, it’ll be hilarious!”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Because, he knows better by now.”

They heard the sound of the door upstairs opening, indicating there wasn’t much time.

“Quick!” Sans urged, motioning for Frisk to take the whoopee cushion.

Frisk took it with little hesitation.

“Alright, human! I am back!”

Frisk extended their hand to Papyrus.

“Oh! A friendship handshake to make up for earlier? Well, don’t mind if I do!”

With that Papyrus extended his own hand to shake Frisk’s, mindful not to accidentally scratch them with the claws. However, the moment their two hands touched, a loud “pffffzzzzzttttt” wafted through the air. Papyrus’ expression immediately changed to one of disappointment. In stark contrast, Frisk grinned, giggling quietly.

“Sans?”

“Yeah, bro?”

“Please, stop using other people to prank me by proxy!”

“Well if you didn’t make it so difficult I wouldn’t need to. Heh.” Sans added a trademark wink.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t prank me so often I wouldn’t have to implement such extensive anti-prank measures!”

“So, that’s what they call it. Heh. I thought it was just being a stick in the mud.”

“If only you put as much effort into your guard duties as you do your pranks!”

“Hey! I already put my BACKBONE into it enough as it is!”

And this statement was followed by yet another rimshot from seemingly nowhere.

Seriously, how does he do that?! Ralsei desperately wondered to himself.

“Anyways… Human er- Frisk! Why don’t we go hang out in my room? And away from Sans’ constant shenanigans!”

“Sure, why not?”

“Great! Follow me!”

“Wait, what about me?” Ralsei asked. The idea of leaving Frisk alone with the beast right now left a bad taste in the goat’s mouth.

“Hmmmm, but only my friends are allowed in my room! And the human is my friend.” Papyrus replied, pulling out the sad puppy look again.

Ralsei pondered for a moment, but didn’t need a second more. The solution to this problem was clear. As much as he didn’t want to, he had to.

“Well, can I be your friend too?”

The beastly skeleton’s frown almost instantly turned upside down. “Really?! Wowie! Of course! Two new friends in one day! And I’m not even in the royal guard yet! Well, you know what they say! The more the merrier! Follow me, friends!” Papyrus exclaimed as he led the two up the stairs and into his room.

Inside the room was a purple carpet with a flame pattern on the edges in the center of the floor.

Right next to the door was a box full of bones. Across from the door was a computer on a desk, with another door to the left of it, and a bookcase next to the door.

Next to this bookcase was a large black pirate flag hung up on the wall. And on the other side of the room, was Papyrus’... racecar bed?

Isn't that for little kids? That thought couldn’t help but pass through Ralsei’s mind the moment he laid eyes on it. 

Oh, and of course, next to the bed was a table covered in action figures. “Oh ho! I notice you eyeing my collection of figures! I bet you’re wondering how I have so many?”

“Um, not really but-” Ralsei began to reply, but was completely interrupted by the eager-to-explain Papyrus.

“Well, you see, the answer is quite simple! I got them from a large man in red who goes down people’s chimneys! What was his name again?” Papyrus pondered.

“You mean Santa Claus?” Ralsei asked.

“Yes! That’s it! Thank you, small tree!”

“For the last time, I’m not a tree! And my name is Ralsei!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ralsei. I, The Great Papyrus, shall never call you a tree again!”

“Thank you.” Ralsei exhaled in relief.

“So. Shall we begin hanging out?” Papyrus asked.

Frisk raised a brow. “Aren’t we already?”

This elicited a laugh from Papyrus. “I don’t really know!” He proceeded to reach into his back pocket, pull out a small green book, and open it. “I grabbed this guidebook on how to hang out! I feel we can consult it for instructions on what to do!”

A guidebook on how to hang out?! IS HE SERIOUS?! Ralsei wondered to himself, clenching his fists in visible frustration.

Noticing their friend’s exasperation, Frisk pet Ralsei on the back, with an understanding look.

Ralsei let out a sigh, releasing the tension in his body.

“Let’s see… Step 1. Press [C] on your keyboard for the friendship HUD!” Papyrus read.

“... Press… What?” Ralsei’s face went blank, completely puzzled.

“Says right here, press the [C] key? … huh?”

Papyrus stared blankly at the book for another minute or so.

“Okay, you know what? Forget it, let’s just move on to step 2!” Papyrus licked a claw with a blue magic tongue, then turned to the next page.

“Step 2. Ask them to hang out. Hm… We already did that… Alright! Step 3! Put on nice clothes, to show you care…” 

“...”

“Wait a second…”

“?”

“Wear clothing? That red scarf hanging around your neck. You’re wearing clothing right now! Not only that… Earlier today, you were also wearing clothing! Could it be?! You planned this from the start! You wanted to hang out with me from the beginning! Wowie!”

Ralsei flinched for a moment, as if he was contemplating smacking either himself or the dragon in the face, but he stopped himself. Just let it go, Ralsei… Just let it go…

“You’re way better at this than I am! Your friendship power is immense! But! Don’t think you’ve bested me yet!” He thrust his arm out and pointed a claw at the children, twisting his whole body into a dramatic pose. “I, The Great Papyrus, can easily keep up with you! I have never been beaten in hanging out before by anyone ever! And I never will!”

D-Didn’t he say earlier he’s never done this before? How can he?! No, no. Don’t even think about it Ralsei. Just don’t bother…

“For you see! I too can wear clothing! In fact! I wear MY special clothing underneath my battle body at all times! Even after my change ruined my old clothes, I created an even better one in record time! Behold!” With the energy of an inventor pulling the cloth off their latest creation, Papyrus took his Battle Body straight off!

Beneath it were shorts, a shirt with the words “Cool Dude” proudly displayed on it, and… a hat? Where did he get the hat from?

“Nyeh heh! So! What do you think of my secret style?!” Papyrus asked, puffing his chest out proudly.

Frisk and Ralsei looked at each other for a moment. Ralsei, visibly exhausted. Frisk, grinning with glee. Ralsei motioned his hand as if to say “You do it.” Frisk complied, turning to Papyrus and answering, “Eh, I rate it 7/10.”

“Really!? Yes! That’s a generally favorable score!” Papyrus practically squealed in delight. “But!” In the span of a second, the smile turned from cheerful to mischievous. “You don’t know the true secret power of this outfit! So, what you just said is invalid! This hangout shall proceed no further until you find it!”

“Secret? Are you kidding me? What is he even talking about?” Ralsei whispered into Frisk’s ear.

The child remained determined as usual. “I’ll figure it out. Just watch.”

With that, Frisk began to guess. They pointed to Papyrus paws - each talon had a miniature baseball attached to the end.

“Oh those! Pretty neat right? But sadly not it!”

Frisk then pointed to Papyrus’ shirt.

“You know, this didn’t used to say ‘Cool Dude’ but, I find any article of clothing can be perfected with a bit of effort! That being said, not it!”

Hmmm, this was getting difficult now. Frisk moved their finger down, pointing to Papyrus’ shorts.

“Oh those? There’s actually nothing special about those at all. They’re just shorts I bought at the store. Try again.”

Darn it. This is really hard. Well, there’s only one option left. Frisk pointed at Papyrus’ hat.

“Oh ho! You’ve figured it out!” Tail a blur, Papyrus lifted his hat to reveal a… present? Underneath.

“Is that a-” Ralsei began to say, before being cut off.

“That’s right! A gift! Just for you! Go ahead, open it!” Papyrus cheerfully answered, handing Frisk the gift.

Frisk opened the present to find inside… a plate of spaghetti? The dish inside could only vaguely be described as such. ...In fact, mere words may not have been enough to adequately capture the bizarre appearance of the dish before them. Ralsei was completely dumbstruck and unable to speak. Frisk, on the other hand, was more neutral.

“Do you know what this is?” Papyrus asked.

“Uhhh… Spaghetti?” Frisk answered, unsure.

“Well, uhhh, yes! But this isn’t any plain old pasta! This is my artisan’s work! Finely cooked to perfection by me! The master chef Papyrus! This, Is my patented Friendship Spaghetti™”

Frisk and Ralsei simply stared.

“Well? Go on! Take a bite!”

Frisk and Ralsei both glanced at each other nervously. They both frantically gestured, urging the other to take the bite, before eventually Frisk relented and nodded their head as if to say, “Alright, fine…” And with that… The human took the bite.

Upon the first molecule of the meal coming into contact with their tongue, Frisk’s face immediately scrunched up, almost imploding in on itself.

Papyrus gasped, not in shock… but in delight. “Such a passionate expression! You must really love my cooking! And by extension me! I’ve never had anyone actually eat my spaghetti before! Not even Sans… He usually just eats out.”

Gee! I wonder why?! Frisk thought to themself, coughing from the horrible taste.

“But! It’s clear to me now human! You’re completely obsessed with me!” Papyrus declared.

“I-What?!” Ralsei stammered out, completely unable to process the skeleton’s mindset.

“Everything you say! Everything you do! Has been for my sake! And I’m incredibly flattered! But, I think you’d have a better chance of reaching your full potential living for your own sake instead of my own. You could become as great as I! And I think I already have an idea of how I can help you do that!”.

“Alright, sure.” Frisk answered dully.

“Great! I think, you should make your own friends now! And I think I know where to start! You can start with my boss Undyne. I think she’ll love to meet you!”

“Undyne?”

“Yeah! I always meet with her every Tuesday for her lessons! And today is Tuesday! Maybe, I could bring you with me! Sound like a good idea?”

“Uhh… yeah. Sure?” Frisk replied. They were a bit unsure at meeting a monster who gave Papyrus orders to capture them, but what could possibly go wrong?

A wide, toothy grin spread across the beast’s muzzle. “Then it’s settled! Meet me in Waterfall later! I’ll show you where her house is! I’ll see you there! Goodbye!” Papyrus immediately left the room, running out the front door… on all fours. With even greater speed than he was on two legs, he swiftly disappeared over the horizon.

“Heh, there he goes.” A hint of admiration was in Sans’ tone.

Ralsei didn’t even react this time. He somehow just knew it was coming. “He didn’t even tell us where ‘Waterfall’ is!”

“Water you talking about? It’s just down the road from Snowdin.”

The familiar sound of a pun - almost like his mother’s sense of humor - was enough to calm Ralsei down. “Oh… That’s good. We don’t have to go very far.”

“Yup, and if you want to get outta here, you’ll HAVE to go through Waterfall to get to New Home. Well, assuming you don’t want to take the LONG way around.”

“Yeah, we’ll pass.”

“Alright then. Try not to get wet. If ya get lost, just call me. I can give you directions if you want. Cause I’m just a compass-ionate guy!” Once more, the sound of a rimshot somehow flowed through the room.

“...Did you seriously just make a compass pun?”

“Yes. And you can’t stop me. Anyway, I’ve gotta go. I’ve got some more ‘Work’ to do. I’ll see you around.” Sans turned around and started to leave the room… but the moment he took a step, his body seized up! He tumbled down the stairs, making several unnaturally painful-sounding cracks with each thump.

“Sans!?”

He didn’t seem to hear the kids’ cries. Sans stumbled to his feet, a very unusual expression of lost composure on his face. He clutched at himself, hyperventilating, and made a break for the exit!

“Wait!”

Frisk jumped down the stairs and sprinted after him, Ralsei swiftly following behind! However, they didn’t need to go far - the short skeleton’s body gave out in the open doorway.

The skeleton’s limbs thrashed and spasmed, his own body completely out of his control! It seemed he was undergoing a process similar to Papyrus - spikes erupted along his spine, his fingertips sharpened into claws, his slippers shredded as his feet violently reshaped into paws… All the while, he was steadily growing - to a size just as tall as Papyrus’ “human” form.

Sans screamed and howled as his voice slowly yet surely deepened. His teeth sharpened and pushed against each other, face shuddering from the strain… Knowing what was to come, Sans pressed his hands against his face, as if trying to hold the transformation back… but to no avail. The sound of several wet cracks felt like they were ripping apart his skull as it pushed out into a muzzle in uneven bursts. For a few moments, he looked like a strange skeletal dog-lizard monster, before the horns grew in and completed the draconic look.

Then, as abruptly as it started, it stopped. Sans simply lay there on all fours, panting, while the fight-or-flight drives of Frisk and Ralsei were on full throttle. Several, tense seconds passed… before the beast’s skull shot up with a goofy (or at least, what counted as such on the beastly visage) grin. “I thought I’d be unaffected, but you could say I was barking up the wrong tree!”

CRASH! Frisk and Ralsei facefaulted so hard, they left imprints in the carpet!

“Whoa, careful now. Don’t want to ruin the carpet. Like my brother, it doesn’t take too kindly to people just walking all over it!” Sans stretched, looking not unlike a cat, before rising to a bipedal stance and shoving his claws in his hoodie pockets. He was significantly taller now, to the point where his shirt looked like a weird crop top that left part of his spinal cord exposed. “Anyway, I’m off. As I said, just call me if you need me.”

“Wait a moment! Aren’t you going to at least explain why you turned into a dragon!? And more importantly, why hasn’t Papyrus changed back by now-” Ralsei rushed to grab him, but his hand simply closed around thin air. He couldn’t take it anymore - his frustration escaped in the form of a wail. “DARN IIIIIT! NOT AGAIN!”

Frisk gently pat him on the back, reassuring him with a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get answers soon enough. For now, let’s go to Waterfall.” 

“I hope it’s not too dangerous.” Ralsei pulled his hat down over his face, as if it would shield him from any oncoming horrors.

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Frisk assured, taking Ralsei’s hand and walking out the front door… right into the path of a terrified reptilian monster child.

“Er… hi?”

No response. He looked like he was usually bright yellow, but he had dulled to a much paler hue. His eyes were even bigger than that Noel girl’s after finding out Frisk was a human.

Ralsei quickly put together what was going on. “How much did you see?”

The boy started trembling intensely, as if he was experiencing a strong, bitter cold… before running away screaming. “AAAAAAAAAH! WEREWOLF! WEREWOOOOOLF!”

Scratching the back of his head, Ralsei muttered, “I hope this doesn’t have any repercussions in the future…” 

***

Meanwhile…

Unbeknownst to both the children and the skeletons, a figure was overlooking all of this. Not Flowey. This existence was in a place beyond the physical plane, so it was able to, unnoticed by even the most perceptive of monsters, closely observe the duel between Papyrus and the children, as well as the elder brother’s abrupt mutation. 

“I suppose it’s started, then… Two of the four ‘seeds’ I planted have started to sprout… will the other two follow?”

To be continued…

(Special thanks to my editor/co-writer: https://determinationisnotcrash.tumblr.com/ )


	7. Chapter 4: Interlude - Puzzling Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to the soul of bravery?

A few years before Frisk’s journey began…

In their dreams, unbeknownst to the other, both of the skeleton brothers saw flashes of strange images. Sans saw the sterile walls of a lab, from within a tube filled with liquid, an unfamiliar skeletal figure peering deep into his soul. Floating hands took him out of the tube, gently laying him on a bench. The figure was looking down on him… smiling…?

Papyrus was led to a room, then commanded to shift. An exciting sensation flowed through his body, something rising up from deep within him. He lowered himself to all fours, as the room seemed to significantly shrink before his eyes.

He ran through a long, narrow tunnel of an obstacle course, the world becoming a blur as projectile spikes flew his way and hellish flames flared around him. Any hazards fired at the skeleton – both the magic bullets of monsters and the physical bullets of humans alike – he either swiftly evaded, or simply bounced off his strengthened body. Somehow, a part of his subconscious knew… he had been designed to withstand all sorts of assaults from even humans.

The skeleton’s claws and fangs tore through targets made of solid steel like they were mere tissue. An unimaginable high flowed through him from the rush of power he felt in this shape!

Tearing through all the minor targets, he reached the end of the tunnel, the metal hallway opening up to a circular arena, the walls of which extended up high. With steps that shook the whole building, a lumbering mechanical construct emerged into view, vaguely humanoid in nature. It was an approximation of the kind of technology Surface humans had access to, based off material that fell down.

Several compartments on its body opened, revealing dozens upon dozens of missiles! Papyrus could only get a glimpse of them for a second before they all launched out and closed in on him from all directions!

However, the beast was prepared, responding with lightning-fast reflexes! A jagged bone – not anywhere near similar to the usual round shape of his magic, countered each and every missile! Their explosions occurred far away from where he was standing, and the shrapnel that littered the area didn’t so much as scratch his toughened frame.

The warmech’s assault continued. Before the smoke even cleared, gunfire emerged from within it! Papyrus leaped out of the way of the bullets, bounding around the enemy robot in circles. The bullets continued to follow him, leaving indents in the floor. Eventually, the rattle of gunfire ceased, changing to the click of an empty gun. That was his chance!

Focusing all his power in his legs, the beast leaped into the air, looking down on the enemy from above. His jaws parted, light starting to shine from within. It started off small, smaller than a flame of a matchstick, but quickly intensified exponentially to brighter than even a supernova.

Yes… this was… the ultimate destructive technique. Able to eradicate anything from the world. His entire body vibrating with the magical force behind it, he unleashed the massive blast onto the robot! The entire world was filled with light… Then he woke up.

They both dismissed them as simple dreams – Sans’ love for the science fiction genre, coupled with Papyrus finding about such works via ‘osmosis’ naturally led to imaginary scenarios based around such aesthetics.

Of course, whenever they had excess energy to burn, felt threatened, or just downright stressed, their forms did change to release it. And naturally, because the forms were more animalistic and violent in nature, all they had to do was spend a while in the wilderness to let the beasts do their thing, working it into their schedule.

That was a natural part of life for them, entirely disconnected to the strange facility as far as they knew. Neither of them spent more than a single waking moment thinking about those dreams… Up until now.

***

As usual, it was another same old weekend in Snowdin. At this time, Papyrus had already set his sights on becoming a member of the Royal Guard… but right now, he was too young to even be considered for a position.

But that wasn’t enough to put down the Great Papyrus! For every day until he was old enough to apply, he would train with his homemade obstacle course! With a smile on his face, he marched out of Snowdin, heading towards the forest.

One of Sans’ many friends offered to provide technology for him. With their gadgets, and his brilliant mind, he managed to set up his magnificent Gauntlet of Deadly Terror! He didn’t yet have the resources to implement it on a rickety bridge as he hoped, but according to the advanced, extensive calculations he made, his “draft” version of it deep in the forest already carried 74.2% of the intended experience!

Flicking a switch, the skeleton took on his custom-tailored challenge! Cannons fired! Spikes swung! Blades sliced! The several minutes just rushed by, and it was over in an instant, leaving a panting Papyrus at the end.

He didn’t feel the same rush as he did in his dreams. Papyrus didn’t want to think that his idea of an obstacle course was lousy, but… compared to the one he went through in his imagination (there was no way they could be memories), this felt extremely watered down. But for now, with his current materials and expertise, it was the best he could do.

The crunch of snow alerted him to a new arrival. It sounded like someone with the short stature of a humanoid child. There were only a handful of people like that in the village, and out of them, the most likely one to be out here in a place like this was… Well, this is unexpected! But not unwelcome! “Sans, what a pleasant surprise! You’ve finally decided to join me for training-”

Papyrus turned around with a grin, but rather than the eyelights of his brother, he was instead met with the bright orange eyes of a human. It wasn’t his older brother, but instead a orange-haired boy who looked a few years younger than Papyrus himself.

A shock, like his bones were hollow and liquid was flowing through him, coursed through the skeleton’s bones, before giddiness quickly started to overtake him. Almost like the excess energy of a sugar rush, he jumped for joy, cartwheeling around the open space and running in circles, all the while exclaiming, “I met a human! I met a human!! Nyeh-heh-heh-heh-heh~!”

This was the best day of his life! Not because monsterkind was closer to their alleged freedom that the skeleton never really believed in, but because if he brought the boy to the Royal Guard, they would certainly make an exception for a teenager like him to get in!

Stopping his mania-fuelled sprint right in front of the human, Papyrus pointed an exposed bony finger dramatically at him. “Stop right there, human! I, the Great Papyrus, am here to capture you! You are to be escorted to my lovely shed, where you shall be treated to the finest and most enticing of refreshments! Then, you will be personally escorted straight to the King himself!”

The boy looked completely confused and wary, as if he was looking at an abstract art piece few sane people could understand. A few seconds of stunned silence followed… before he got into a fighting stance, tightening his bandana and raising his fists. “Are you… one of the people Miss Toriel warned me about…? One of Asgore’s henchmen?”

Papyrus’ eyesockets sparkled at the mention of the name. “Yes, indeed! Asgore’s most loyal aspiring henchman!” That technically wasn’t the truth, but he wanted to look impressive in front of such an important figure.

“I see… In that case… I’ve got no choice but to break straight through you!” With the energy of a wild, rampaging bull, the boy charged straight at the skeleton! As he ran, he threw a punch, putting all his momentum into it!

“Very well! I, the Great Papyrus, eagerly accept your challenge!” With a graceful backflip, he multiplied the distance between himself and the human by hundreds, casting his Blue Attack on the boy with a swift ping. Long range battle was his domain!

A storm of bones came at the boy, almost as if it was raining solid calcium sideways. Despite being just a child, the orange-haired boy deftly wove between the bones, like an action movie hero dodging projectiles in bullet time. Papyrus was truly putting his all in, but not a single one of the bones hit the boy.

This didn’t dampen Papyrus’ spirit at all. Rather, his passion flared up an equal amount in response! “Nyeh-heh-heh! Impressive! Most impressive, human! However! Do not think this is the full extent of the Great Papyrus’ abilities!”

With a distortion that tore through the air like paper, a huge draconic skull emerged, hitting the ground in front of Papyrus. His Special Attack… his Blaster! Blade-like fangs and wicked horns painted the picture of a truly terrifying beast, its skull alone taller than himself… but physical strength wasn’t its most powerful asset by far.

If the human boy was agile enough to evade his bone projectiles, then he would simply fill the entire area with a magic attack. “Ready or not, here I come!” His laser was set to stun, not kill. But from the pure heat, light, and sound the fearsome blast emitted, it would be impossible to tell. Everything in the hundred metres in front of him at least would have been caught in the attack.

Papyrus was confident enough in his own Special Attack, he felt no need at all to confirm the result of the blast before dismissing the skull. Therefore, the surprise was immeasurable when a gloved fist barrelled straight for his head. “Wha-!!”

Ducking into a sliding kick, the skeleton evaded the blow, rising back up to his feet and turning to face the boy. The child’s fist instead connected with the snow beneath him, creating a small creator far bigger than the weapon that caused it.

For a few moments, the skeleton was confused… before quickly realising what had happened. “You figured out the properties behind my Blue Attack so quickly… Wowie! You’re quite the fast learn- Oh!” Another punch narrowly missed his skull, the mere wind from that being enough to punch a hole in the tree behind his head.

“In that case…!” Clicking the fingers on both his hands, a long bone materialised in each one. The boy’s next punch – one Papyrus wouldn’t have been able to evade – was blocked by the right bone, a powerful vibration travelling through it and up his arm. If he weren’t holding on so tightly, it might have been knocked straight tout of his grip! “En garde!”

“UUUUUUOOOOOOHHHHH…!” At this point, Papyrus should have noticed the clearly desperate, sweat-drenched expression on the boy’s face… but he was far too busy enjoying himself. For once, he had a challenge!

For the next few moments, they continued to clash their weapons, fist to bone. Papyrus’ bones worked both as offence and defense – trying to take one of the boy’s punches head-on would be suicide, so he used them to both block and redirect his blows. They additionally gave him the range he needed to attack while avoiding getting into the child’s punching range.

On the other hand, the orange-eyed human’s blows were comprised of pure power. With the physical form of humans, his attacks naturally had more weight to them. A punch with normal effort was nearly enough to knock one of Papyrus’ bones away. A punch with all the boy’s force behind it would…!

An orange aura fired up around the boy, putting both his fists in front of him and thrusting forward with all his might! “HNNGH…!” Papyrus crossed his weapons in front of him and tried to hold it back, but it was like trying to hold back a massive boulder on a steep incline!

This life-threatening situation was enough to push his mind to its limits. Like the last bit of toothpaste that came out of the tube with herculean effort, a move to reverse the tide of battle was squeezed out of his mind!

In a move that on the surface, worked completely contrary to his goals, Papyrus released the bones he was holding and leaped back! With the sudden lack of resistance, the human lurched forwards, stumbling into thin air.

These handful of seconds gave Papyrus the tiny window of opportunity he needed! Producing a small, knife-sized bone, he flicked it at the human’s leg! If a fighter who relied on close combat like him was immobilized, he would be entirely unable to fight back – easy pickings for being captured! “It’s my victory, human!”

A triumphant, practically glowing feeling started to well up in the skeleton… only to be swiftly replaced by an immense, stabbing pain, far worse than anything he had ever felt in his life. As if his very soul had been pierced through. “A-ah…” Trembling… slowly… Papyrus looked down. The same bone was sticking out of his chest.

The boy expected him to throw the bone! He even predicted the location he would aim at! When the magic bullet shot out, the human simply grabbed it and threw it back right at him! No sooner had Papyrus realised this than the boy closed the distance between them and made his decisive, winning move!

Like a hammer and nail, he punched the bone further into Papyrus’ chest! With the intent behind it, it blew a hole right through the skeleton. Blood splattered the snow behind the two of them, slowly flaking into dust.

Papyrus was completely taken off-guard by the boy’s attitude – up until now, the skeleton only saw this as a fun game. He had no idea… that the human was fighting to kill, like a desperate cornered animal. And because he had misread the situation, the skeleton was going to pay the price. The pure, unadulterated shock running through his mind… was enough for the other side of himself in his heart to awaken.

Abruptly, his eye sockets ignited with a blazing draconic fury. Horns erupted from his skull, whereas his teeth swiftly sharpened into fangs.

This feeling inside of him… this wasn’t the same as his usual transformation. This felt like something thousands of times more intense! Something far worse! And yet, he didn’t care. An increasingly loud voice at the back of his mind encouraged him to welcome this shift. As the energy washed over him, his wounds healed, the hole in his chest sealing with the boy’s arm still inside it and ripping it clean off.

The child screamed, but Papyrus wouldn’t let him get away. He latched onto the boy with lengthening claws, a growl bubbling up from within his throat. He no longer looked like a skeleton monster, but a demon.

The child tried to fight back, but the skeleton’s strength had multiplied a hundredfold. Like his remaining arm was caught in a bear trap, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t budge.

With a sound that resembled the cracking of twigs, but amplified to be ten times as loud, the skeleton’s horrifying mutation continued. Growing frame and spikes tearing through his clothes, face pushing out into a muzzle as his hands and feet stretched into paws…

Body changing to a quadrupedal stance with a snap, the creature crashed to the ground with the human. He coughed up a spray of blood, feeling like his organs were being crushed beneath the beast’s immense weight. Any remaining resemblance to the eccentric, overconfident skeleton the boy first fought was quickly wiped out, having been replaced by a creature that had crawled up straight from the depths of hell.

The last thing the human saw was those terrible, predatory jaws slowly open wide. In his final moments, he realised what it was like to stare death straight in the face.

***

By the time Sans arrived, it was already too late for the child. The scene the skeleton arrived to was like something out of a gory horror movie. The pristine white of the snow was stained red all around. Barely any of the boy remained, the beast Papyrus had become crunching on the remains of the head and torso, as if the small corpse was a mere snack to it.

With the child’s physical shell destroyed, an object emerged from the remains. Something that the beast was truly after. A bright orange heart – the child’s soul, which hovered in mid-air before the dragon.

As the hellbeast’s jaws parted, Sans felt a cold grip wrap itself around his mind. He absolutely couldn’t let his brother take it in! If he absorbed it… if he absorbed it, then he would…! Then he would…!

Then he would what…? Sans knew what a monster with a human soul could do, there wasn’t a single person in the Underground who didn’t know how the legend went… but why was a voice at the back of his head screaming for Papyrus not to have it, no matter the cost?

“PAPYRUS! NOOOOO!” Leaping into the air, Sans snatched the soul away from the dragon’s jaws, causing it to chomp on nothing. Having been denied its rightful reward, the beast let out a terrifying roar, a thunderous otherworldly noise which made it feel like the entire cavern was quaking.

A fragment of hope welled up within Sans, but it was quickly crushed, escaping from his mouth alongside a spray of blood and air. Its tail had whipped around, slamming into the short skeleton and sending him flying into a tree! He hit the wood with a sickening crack, seeing stars.

To make matters even worse, several more cracks started to echo throughout the air… and it wasn’t from the impact. “Uuu… Aaah…” Sans could only make weak moans as his body slowly began to rebel against him.

The invasively close sound of crackling – as if a bonfire was directly next to his skull – flowed through his skull as horns extended, while running his magic tongue along his teeth confirmed they were starting to sharpen into wicked fangs. Strange energy flowed through all his bones as they started to expand, his shirt feeling increasingly tight as his ribcage barrelled out.

Sans wanted badly to fight back the change – he had never been in that terrible state at the same time as his brother, but he knew that it would only end in pain. But the gleam in the dragon’s eyes, hungry for the soul clenched in Sans’ increasingly bestial hands, told him that he wouldn’t be allowed the chance for a breather.

It lunged at him, salivating jaws opened wide, but once again, much to its increasing chagrin, it missed! It let out another roar of fury, irritated by the pest before it. Whirling around, it realised that somehow, the strange, tiny monster that held its prize was in the exact opposite direction.

“Papyrus! Stop this! Turn back to your usual, kind self!” Sans’ voice was becoming rougher and rougher, stumbling slowly down in pitch. Drool was starting to leak from his own mouth, with all his blade-like teeth pushing up against each other. His face was starting to periodically twitch, a low pressure on it. It was as if his mouth wasn’t big enough to keep everything contained.

His plea fell on deaf ears. With a piercingly sharp click, the beast’s jaws unhinged and a terrible light began to gather within.

“Shit…!”

VRRRRRRRRRR! A pulse of pure, concentrated magic erupted from within the dragon’s maw. Sans barely managed to roll out of the way (feeling the searing blast of hot air), but as he did, he felt a tight, painful squeeze on his hips and shoulders, accompanied by a crack. When he tried to get back up to his feet, his centre of gravity dragged him back down onto all fours. Not good…!

His worried gaze looked down to see his hands practically unrecognisable. They were already half-forepaws, his thumbs steadily sliding up his wrists and shrinking into useless dewclaws. He could feel his body threatening to burst out of his clothes, several rips at the seams already present from his thickening bones.

The pressure on his face was starting to give way, a muzzle slowly but surely forming. And with that, came the foreign presence starting to pierce his mind. A drive to mercilessly destroy whatever tried to harm him or his master (master? Where did that come from?). An exhilarating high rising up within his chest, the allure of power tempting him to give in to the transformation. And, worst of all… A bottomless, insatiable hunger – the desire to greedily devour the soul he was carrying, march out of the Underground, and consume as many humans as he could.

Realising the terrible thoughts flowing through his skull, Sans raised a forepaw and slapped himself, snapping himself back to reality. Just in time, giving him the opportunity to sidestep out of the rampaging dragon’s path.

He couldn’t run away – that would just make it eventually head for Snowdin or the Ruins. He couldn’t fight with all his force – he didn’t want to kill his brother. He couldn’t even do nothing – if he changed, there would be two terrible beasts for the community to deal with! Weighing up all his options… left Sans with only one path.

There was only one chance to do this. If he failed, then that would be it. However, he had to at least try! For his brothers’ and neighbourhood’s sake! “Haaaaaaaaaaa…!”

The part-beast charged straight at the fully changed beast, a quadrupedal gallop coming naturally to him! Predictably, it charged back and fired its laser of death, straight down at him. However! That was exactly what Sans wanted! When it fired its blast, it had to stay still to gather up power. For that brief moment it was stationary, that gave the opening he needed to strike!

Sidestepping, then leaping with all his power into the air, he cast his blue attack on himself and slammed his own body into the dragon’s skull! With a force rivalling a small meteor, there was enough force behind it to knock the beast out cold, stirring up a huge tremor as it collapsed to the ground! Pacified, the unconscious form smoothly reverted and shrank until it was the familiar shape of his brother. It was as Sans expected – with the perceived threat gone and energy expended, Papyrus could revert.

Sans allowed himself a grin, before realising that there was one more thing for him to do. If he lost total control over his thoughts, there wouldn’t be someone to turn him back. So he had to do this on his own. Conjuring up a mental image of the force changing him in his mind, he grabbed it, and pushed back with all his might!

The changes did indeed recede, but it happened painfully, unevenly and in jolts. First, his shoulders and hips snapped into humanoid positions while leaving the beast-like proportions unchanged, giving him a strange, semi-feral look. Then, his muzzle collapsed in partway, making him look like a bizarre, semi-feral pug skeleton.

Though the further reversions happened in a more proportionate manner, it still happened in spurts, and it still felt painful to carry out. Like it was something he had to force… The moment he thought that, the transformation stuck, as if a metaphorical gear had been jammed. He was left deformed: significantly taller, spikier, and more fearsome than he should have been. A growl bubbling up inside him, Sans gave one final push…!

***

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Papyrus lurched up. If he were a human, his heartbeat in that moment would have been faster than that of a hummingbird’s. For a few seconds, he had no idea where he was or what he was. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he managed to regain enough presence of mind to take in his surroundings.

He was… in his room…? He looked down at himself. His pyjamas were completely soaked in sweat. So that was what the ‘dream blood’ was… His gaze turned to his clock. Afternoon already!? How long had he slept in!?

“Everything okay, bro?” The skeleton’s eyes focused on the short-statured skeleton monster by his side. This was the first time in forever Papyrus saw it – Sans’ ever-present grin wasn’t there. He was frowning, eyelights filled with concern.

“I… I’m fine. Nyeh-heh… Just a nightmare.” Papyrus reassured him with a chuckle, before breathing a deep, genuine sigh of relief. It was just a particularly visceral nightmare… he didn’t turn into a hideous abomination… he didn’t rip a human apart… Thank goodness it was just a bad dream… Just a bad dream…

He buried his head in his hands, wiping away the tears he didn’t know were there. As he dried his face, he noticed an odd sensation. Eh…? Were my fingertips in my regular form always this sharp…? Papyrus pulled his hands back. Each of his phalanges were tipped with a pointed claw. They couldn’t be called razor-sharp, but they were definitely pointier than he was used to.

A cold sweat broke out on his body again. What did this mean…? Whenever he was forced into that beastly form, he could always change back! Did this mean… that he really did kill…? No. Jumping to a conclusion like that would be ridiculous. He could have just changed slightly in his sleep. The skeleton summoned a bone attack to use as a makeshift nail file… but to an increasing dread in his ribcage, the claws split the bone attack straight in half.

“W-what is…?”

Two comically large thick red gloves landed on his lap before he could continue. “Don’t forget to put your gloves on today, Pap. We both know how im-claws-ible it’s always been for you to go around with your bare hands without damaging anything.”

“Y-yes…”

“Glad you’re sharp-witted. Anyway, I’m off to work hard again, being the dutiful brother I am.” With that chuckle, the short skeleton turned to leave, likely to slack off at his post again. When he turned his back to Papyrus, the younger brother could swear he started hallucinating: a short tail, the tip just barely showing from the leg of his shorts, was nervously wrapped around his leg.

“Sans!”

“Yeah?” He turned around calmly, his face once again a poker face of a smile.

“Answer me truthfully. Did a human child die today?”

Without a hint of hesitation, Sans answered with a blunt, “One did. The kid was wandering the forest lost forever, and he died of hypothermia. Poor thing… I don’t even feel like making a pun about it.” To prove his sentence, he lifted a newspaper with the heading “Human corpse discovered in Snowdin. Cause of death determined to be hypothermia.”

Papyrus felt slightly guilty for feeling relieved at this. So he didn’t lose control of his beast form and maul a human after all…

Meanwhile, Sans was relieved for a completely different reason. Pulling the strings and manipulating the news through his connections managed to work out after all.

***

Meanwhile in The Ruins

With how wonderfully Toriel’s day started, she would never have guessed the terrible twist fate had in store. After seeing off that orange-haired boy, she was anxious, but hopeful. Perhaps, this time… perhaps, this time, the child would make it through… that was what she always thought to herself once the current child left.

It was time for her afternoon tea with her friends – as it was her turn to be the hostess, she was shopping for pastries. Unfortunately, her favourite snail pie was off-limits – while she couldn’t get enough of the taste, the monsters she talked to on a regular basis felt the exact opposite.

Therefore, spider pastries and cider were a close second. It was also a good place to catch up on the latest news of the Underground, considering the vast network they had, extending to almost every corner of the massive cavern they called home. Their connections were almost more like the squirming tentacles of a massive octopus, than spiders. But regardless, they weren’t malicious. At least, that Toriel had heard of.

Unlike most days, when there were rarely more than five people at once in the spiders’ bakery, the room was absolutely packed! Practically the entire neighbourhood was shoved into the room, excitedly chatting about something.

“That’s wonderful! One step closer to freedom!”

“Ribbit, ribbit! (I can’t wait to find out what Surface insects taste like!)”

“I-I hope that we’ll all be nicer to each other on the Surface… O-or I’ll be able to just hide from bullies…”

A smile spreading across Toriel’s muzzle, she approached the commotion. This could only mean good news! “May I know what happened, everyone?”

“The King captured another soul!”

The warm feeling in her chest instantly turned ice-cold. No… not another one… Her head pounded, as the world started to spin…

“M-Miss Toriel…? What’s wrong!?” Monsters within the bakery quickly started to gather around her, trying to support her.

She gently, yet firmly pushed them away and sprinted off, all the way to the flower patch where her adopted human child first landed. When she was sure no one was nearby, she collapsed to her knees and wailed. Again… again…! Why did this keep happening!?

***

Meanwhile, somewhere in a place outside of regular time and space, within a ‘sea’ of darkness… floating like a message in a bottle, was a document from long ago. No one would ever set eyes on this thin sheet of paper again… Despite the information written on it being of vital importance.

***

The optimal outcome would be to bypass the Barrier without any violence… but as the prince’s untimely end demonstrated, we need a way to ensure our absolute victory and turn around this dire situation. The most powerful sapient beings on the planet – humans – require a counter of much greater power.

Therefore… after years and years of work, my two finest creations have been brought into the world. Though they may have begun life as unimpressive humanoid skeletons, those forms were mere designed as shells, or ‘eggs’ of a sort. Low-energy cocoons to use as their true forms grew and developed.

Though I did not intend for them to have personalities, let alone sapience, that problem should be swiftly rectified in the situation they are required as weapons. If they were to continue transforming into their beast forms as they age… they would no longer be able to revert.

The final element to complete their maturation would be a human soul. With that, everything will begin. Unlike regular monsters, who fuse with the souls, my weapons will devour them, taking all the soul’s power into their own. Converting the soul into fuel for their own form.

Their Determination, their magical powers, and their abilities to take in more souls will grow and grow, until they can dominate the planet and wipe out the humans, leaving a pristine world for monsterkind to inhabit.


End file.
